


Kingdoms Apart

by livingofframen



Category: jacksepticeye, jacksepticeye egos - Fandom
Genre: (is that what its called??), F/M, Multi, SeptiGab, kingdom au, theres implied death--
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2020-10-03 17:49:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 41,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20456969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livingofframen/pseuds/livingofframen
Summary: King Sean William McLoughlin, ruler of the largest kingdom on the island of Erania. An "unseen force" attacks the smallest yet most peaceful kingdom The Southern Isles and forces a princess to flee, kills the entire population and destroys countless buildings? In comes Princess Evelien Smolders, Heir to the throne to Erania's smallest kingdom. A bit soft-spoked and scared, but confident and fierce she is quickly rumored about in the large walls of this unfamiliar kingdom.Through a war with an unimaginable enemy, an unknown army and massive waves of fear and hysteria, every ruler from every kingdom must come together to save the man who fell into the darkest depths of his own mind.[started june 30th 2019][in progress][trigger warnings for blood, gore, kidnapping, degrading, possession, and more.]





	1. Chapter 1

The brilliant colors around the town center, flowers and magic, and children. The princess had never seen anything like it, the kingdom she was from never did a Summer Solstice celebration but with how big Trelan is it didn't surprise her. People everywhere selling anything, the noise slightly startling her horse, Evelien had to tangle her hand is his hair and hypnotize him to keep him from bucking. Slipping off the horse and holding his lead, with a hand in his hair, she began to walk into the bustling kingdom walls.

The main color was green, she could tell. As children ran across with green streamers flowing behind them, teenagers walking behind, and adults mingled in between. The whole city seemed to be walking one way. She followed the crowd of people and stayed near those with their horses near them. A man walked onto the small stage, immediately she could tell he was the King or Prince of this kingdom. Not by the crown on his head, or by his outfit, but by how the crowd applauded. She clapped along softly, the fear in her stomach slowly fading with the sight of a ruler. She could talk to him.

"Good morning." The male spoke loud and clear, "Welcome to the annual Summer Solstice festival! In a few minutes, we will start the Knights' initiation. The paint just needs to cool a bit."

The crowd whistled and clapped, the foreign princess looked around trying to find someone of importance that wasn't on the stage. She didn't see any knights around, and no one had stopped her at the castle walls. She reached her hand in her satchel, past her cat BB, and felt the smooth metal of her own crown. It was still there. Eventually, a few women and men walked on stage, the king stood in front of them and one by one painted their hair a profound green color. It showed up better on those with lighter hair, but sometimes they would add some liquid to the hair and it would lighten after time. It was incredible to see. Then going back down the line he added a circle to everyone's forehead in green, and a smaller one inside the green circle in blue. They all took a step forward and yelled something, "_the honor for my mother, honor for my own, honor for my daughter, etc."_

"Incredible. That's so cool." She murmured, her hand untangling from her horse's mane.

"Let the festival begin!" The king bellowed and the crowd cheered, throwing confetti in the air and raising swords. Evelien clapped along softly and began to guide her horse towards the stage, lifting her crown and setting it on her head.

"Excuse me miss." She heard a voice and turned, a man stood there. He had on some sort of armor, nothing too crazy but it was armor. His hair was painted, but fading around the edges. He didn't have the circle on his face so the princess assumed he was an older guard.

"Hm?" She turned. Her horse whining and clicking his hooves.

"I didn't know we were having any outside royals, who are you and where are you from." He didn't say it aggressively but he did seem to be annoyed.

"I am princess Evelien Smolders from the Southern Isles." The woman said sharply, her hand stiffening around the lead of her horse.

"Why are you here?" The guard visibly relaxed at the familiar name and location, knowing they were allied. But was still standing defensively.

"I ran from my own kingdom after an attack. I'm here to talk to your ruler about staying here." Evelien didn't realize her hand on the hilt of her sword.

"Follow me." The male spoke and turned. Evelien followed behind him, huffing at the blunt behavior. Entering the main castle, the walls were made of some sort of white brick, decorated with portraits, and other hangings along the walls. Inside stood the king Evelien saw earlier, turned away, another male fussing with his shirt.

"Kneel before the king." The guard muttered and Evelien followed the command, sinking to one knee and straightening her crown on her head. Her chin staying raised towards the king as the guard began to speak.

"King Sean-" The guard began, drawing his sword and pointing it at Evelien.

"Jackie, we've talked about calling me... king..." The King trailed off

"I found a trespasser." The guard said, the sword pricking Eveline on the back, causing the woman to gasp softly, and shift forwards. The king drew his sword, and Jackie sheathed his. Evelien gulped as the king pushed the wide edge of his sword on her chin, the point towards her throat.

"Explain yourself." The king's tone was icy, the way he stared down at Evelien made her skin crawl, but because of her position, she could see every inch of his face. He wasn't that bad looking if she was honest. What was she thinking! This guy had a whole sword to her throat, he could easily move and injure her.

"I am Princess Evelien Smolders from the Southern Isles. I've come here after escaping from my kingdom because we were attacked by an invisible force. My mother sent me here on the fastest horse, Ghost, and I packed some belongings. I cannot return to my kingdom for fear of my own safety." Evelien kept her eyes locked with the blue eyes of the king who lowered his sword then sheathed it.

"Stand and dust yourself off, Princess Evelien." The King spoke and Evelien stood, fixing her newly messed up dress skirt and adjusting her belt.

"Sorry for the rough start, Jackie's a bit overprotective of his brother." Sean sent Evelien a soft smile, the coldness from earlier dropping. Jackie huffed next to his brother, arms crossing. Now Evelien saw the resemblance.

"It's alright, no worries. Rather safe than sorry, right?" She smiled, "All I ask for is a place to sleep, I'll buy a home I just–"

"Nonsense! We have a few spare rooms upstairs you can use with some spare clothes my sisters left. It would be incorrect to make a monarch buy a home and live alone. Chase! Come show her to her room, please." Sean smiled, walking back to his throne and sitting down. Jackie stayed near his brother, and Evelien wondered why he was so weary of her. She hadn't done anything.

"Of course! Princess Evelien, come follow me." Another male motioned her over and Evelien stuttered her movement a bit, "Bring your bag, I'll take your horse down to the stables once we're done."

With that, Evelien now lived within the walls of Trelan.


	2. chapter one.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelien gets settled in Trelan, Jackie is still wary of her.

Evelien stood by the fountain, watching the ripple of stars in the water. Most people had left the solstice festival by now, only small groups were trickling out. The band playing a goodbye song in the background of the water and wind in Eveline's ears. The sound of rocks crunching caused her to turn, Sean approached her calmly.

"How did you like the festival?" Sean asked, almost timidly. Evelien looked over and sent him a large smile.

"It was so interesting! I've never seen anything like it." Evelien gushed, her outfit had changed drastically. Countless different shades of green draped across her outfit, she had bought a hand-sewn green coat from a mother and her daughter when it had gotten cold, someone had braided the green ribbons in her hair and across her crown. Bracelets of all sizes covered her arms and necklaces from different games covered her neck. Sean was similar, though he had a lot less of the bracelets and necklaces, his whole outfit had changed. He was still formal, but he wasn't wearing the whole prince get up.

"I'm glad, I see you played quite a few games?" Sean motioned to her arms and Evelien laughed.

"I couldn't help it, I'm like a child when it comes to activities like that." She turned to look at him, smiling softly. He smiled back a bit wonky, his hand rubbing the side of his neck.

"I was curious if you'd want to go out on the town tomorrow. I can give you a tour of the kingdom." Sean spoke calmly, carefully picking his words as he went.

"I would love that, this center is so beautiful I can only imagine what the rest looks like." Evelien gushed, turning to Sean. They heard the sound of people and both snapped their heads over to see Jackie walking with another man.

"Sean! There you are." Jackie yelled, coming over to his brother. Evelien watched as he pulled Sean away and began to talk. The woman huffed and sat down on the edge of the fountain. The new male stood awkwardly, before walking over to her.

"Hello, Princess Evelien. I'm Jameson Jackson!" Evelien read off a card suspended in mid-air. The woman's eyes widened a bit and the male chuckled

"I'm mute, which means I can't talk but I can use these slides to do so!" Jameson motioned to the slides as he spoke. He seemed very energetic and Evelien nodded along.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jameson! And please just call me Evelien, formalities aren't my thing." The princess smiled and Jameson nodded.

"Of course! Of course, so sorry to interrupt your conversation with Sean. Jackie doesn't seem to like you very much- sorry sorry! That wasn't the nice to say." The stable worker blushed, rubbing his hands together.

"No, it's okay Jameson! I was thinking the same thing. I just showed up though." Evelien sighed, and before she could continue to talk with Jameson, Jackie and Sean came back. Both seemed annoyed.

"Jameson, I'll continue to walk you home. Goodnight King Sean, Goodnight Evelien," Jackie turned sharply and walked away, Jameson said- or showed? His goodbyes and followed.

"It's Princess Evelien dumbass," Evelien whispered, hoping no one heard her.

"I'm so sorry about Jackie, I don't know what's gotten into him. It's late, we should go rest." Sean sighed, rubbing his eyes and Evelien nodded. Deciding not to press him at all.

Upon entering her room, Evelien stripped of the bracelets and necklaces. She placed her crown on the bedside table before opening her bag and pulling out a few dresses. Hanging them in the closet, where Chase had shown her a few other dresses she could wear. She changed out of her day dress and into a nightgown, then she rubbed her makeup and face paint off with wipes.

___

Evelien had awoken before the sun rose. She slowly climbed out of bed and drew herself a warm bath, and brushed her teeth as she waited. Taking a quick bath, she watched the sunrise through the window as she dried off and tied her hair into a low ponytail, she left the bathroom as the sun began to bask her room in a golden glow and opened the closet. She chose to put on a day dress that wasn't hers, it was a white dress with a light red corset. Deciding she looked good enough she threw on some shoes and headed out.

She passed Chase on her way out and he quickly grabbed her arm, pulling her into the room again to put her crown on and find jewelry to match. A little girl and boy running around the room and giggling.

"So, what's all this for?" Evelien asked, looking at Chase in the mirror.

"It's been a few years since there's been a girl in the castle, so I haven't gotten to do this in so long. Plus, my daughter Samantha loves helping- Sammie hand me the ribbon will you?" Evelien laughed softly, watching as the teen giggled and froze.

"Daddy, the only ribbon is Sean's from when he got knighted. Should I go ask?" Samantha asked, looking up. The child seemed to know the history of the castle well, knowing exactly what the plain white ribbon was from.

"Go ahead." The father said and Samantha quickly ran off, Chase undid her hair and started to braid in a ribbon on the top portion of her hair.

"Thank you so much for dressing me up Chase but this isn't needed." Evelien chuckled softly and he sighed, giving her a small smile.

"It's what I love to do, Evelien. I do it for my daughter now, and the princesses who used to live here let me practice on them when I first got here and Samantha was still a baby." Chase chuckled, "five years ago.. before everything happened."

"Everything happened?" Evelien asked and Chase sighed.

"I'll tell you another time, dear." He finished off the braid as his daughter came back in with two ribbons.

"He said to tie this one in her hair," she lifted the one from the room earlier, than lifted dark red one with a bead in the center, "and this one is for a bracelet. A small welcome gift."

"Awe." Evelien chuckled. Chase held Samantha up on his left leg and let her tie the braid off with a ribbon, then Evelien turned around and Samantha tied the ribbon as a bracelet.

"Thank you, Miss Samantha." Evelien stood slow, and Samantha giggled and hid behind her father. Chase held a finger up to tell her to hold on and grabbed a necklace from the table. It was a large ruby hanging from a thin silver chain. Chase clasped it on her neck and then grabbed her crown and softly set it on her head.

"All done." Chase smiled, taking a step back to admire his work.

"Oh my. Thank you so much, Chase! Samantha, you too! You both made me look so wonderful!" Evelien stood and Chase laughed. He gave Evelien a hug and then led Samantha and his son out of the room.

Evelien sighed softly, taking in her look once more before turning and leaving the room. Her white flats softly hitting the marble floor as she walked to the main stairwell. It was an open stairwell, unlike the other two that had hallways on either side so she could see down. She could hear two voices talking and made her way to the side stairwell so she could go down in secret.

"Jackie I don't understand why you hate her! She hasn't done anything to harm anyone, her kingdom got attacked and she's seeking asylum here." Sean's voice was sharp, and she could hear him stand up. She made her way to the bottom of the stairwell as quick as she could.

"She came so suddenly-" Jackie started and Evelien felt her stomach sink.

"If the kingdom got attacked today and I sent you over to Bryan and Amelia, I think they would say the same!" Sean snapped again.

"Why here? Bryan and Amelia are closer, Dan and Phil are closer, Jay and Daniel's kingdoms are closer! Why here?" Jackie said exasperated and Evelien huffed before stepping out of her hiding spot inside the stairwell.

"I know it's improper to intrude on others conversations but I feel like I need to stand up against you, Jackie." Evelien crossed her arms as she walked across the wide open room.

"It's Jackson." Jackie snapped.

"Mhm, whatever." Evelien rolled her eyes, "my mother sent me here because she knew you would take me in. She said, 'Go to Trelan. If the Mcloughlin boys learned anything from their mother they'll let you in. So that's why I skipped over Bryan and Amelia. I'm not really allied with the others, so I wouldn't go there."

"But your story is weird, an unseen force?" Jackie asked,

"People were getting severe headaches, then their eyes would turn black and they would start attacking others. It was like mind control, hypnosis!" She stated firmly.

"Hypnosis? How do you know it wasn't just people lashing out?" Jackie took a few steps towards Evelien, now right in front of her.

"Our subjects loved us! We were all so close I knew almost everyone by name, I was invited to weddings and funerals and birthday parties!" Evelien cried, taking a step closer to Jackie. Sean drew his sword behind them.

"Like anyone would love their royalty that much-"

"Jackson, enough!" Sean snapped finally, slamming his sword into the floor hard enough to bend the tip of his sword and crack the marble floor. Jackie took a few steps back and Evelien felt the tears pooling in her eyes, her arms going numb from fear.

"Jackson Mcloughlin." Sean almost hissed, pointing his bent sword at his brother, "I, as your king, declare you are stepping down from your role as the Head Knight until further notice. Pick up your sword and go to Jameson. I'm sure he has plenty of things for you to do."

"Sean, you-"

"Jackson Mcloughlin, go before I make it harsher." Sean's hands were shaking, but his jaw was locked tight. Evelien could tell he didn't want to do what he was doing.

Jackie picked up his sword and sent a glare to Evelien and Sean before leaving the room. Seconds after the door slammed, Sean dropped his sword.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey thanks for reading!  
please don't hesitate to comment and let me know what you think :>!!


	3. chapter two.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Evelien is mostly settled, its time for her to see more of the kingdom.   
Evelien overhears somethings, Sean plays king, Jameson likes flowers.

Sean ran his hands from his jaw to the back of his head. His eyes filling with tears he blinked away as quick as they came. He took a shuddering breath, then another. Evelien stepped closer, her hand going to his back and slowly rubbing it. Chase had appeared, doting over Sean as usual, not caring as he stepped over broken marble or when he lifted Sean's bent sword.

"It's not your newest one, it's old it's been used, no wonder it broke." Chase set the sword against the wall, "don't fuss, I'm sure I can get another."

"I care less about the sword or the floor, Chase. I care about everything that caused this. Evelien, I am so sorry about Jackson. I cannot believe his behavior and I will not excuse it. He will be punished and that's final, I've made up my mind." Sean gently let out a sigh and Evelien nodded, "I am still taking you out, I just need to go get a temporary sword. Go get your own too. I'll be back shortly,"

With that Sean left. Evelien looked at Chase and he nodded. Evelien made her way to her room and grabbed her belt which had her sword on it. She paused and looked at her self in the mirror and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Don't cry over a man's stupidity. That's what mom would say." She whispered, her hand curling around her dress skirt, "don't cry over anyone, or anything, that you cannot control."

Evelien huffed, wiping at her face and leaving the room. This time going down the main stairwell, where yet again she walking into a conversation.

"The plan is to show her the town, then when we come back I'll pick you and Henrik up so we can go see what happened to the Southern Isles," Sean said, his voice was void of emotion.

"That seems like a good plan, Sean." Chase patted his shoulder before turning, "but don't do anything stupid."

"Chase. C'mon." Sean laughed, bumping into Chase playfully, "I'm not courting her."

Evelien felt her stomach flip. Oh my god. Did they think he was going to court her? They just met!

"I know, it's fun watching you get flustered. Have fun Sean, make sure to stop by and give Marvin the empty glasses." Chase left and Evelien made her way down the stairs, Sean's attention moving to her. He offered her a small smile which she returned.

"Well, ready to go? We have to make our way to the stables." Sean adjusted his button-up shirt and Evelien nodded.

"Sure, let's go." Evelien and Sean left the throne room and made it to the main courtyard. Children giggled and ran around, when one saw Sean he whistled in a high pitch and all the kids ran to make a line. Evelien laughed softly at then and Sean smiled.

"Attention!" He yelled and the kids all snapped to a position, feet shoulder-width apart, left a hand on the center of their chest and their right hand making a fist they held across their chest.

"Knights! Today I instruct that all of you give one flower to a fair maiden in the castle." Sean stood in front of them and Evelien couldn't help but smile widely.

"Yes, King Mcloughlin!" They shouted in unison. Then one slowly raised his hand.

"Yes, Jake?" Sean looked at the small boy with curiosity.

"I think you should show us how." He said, and the kids snickered softly. Sean laughed along with them and nodded.

"At ease, but pay attention," Sean walked over to a small cart and got a rose, from far away Evelien could see it was a simple red rose. The kids dropped the salute but stayed nearby. Sean came back and the kids watched him intently as if he was some oracle telling them their future.

"Now, when you give a rose to a maiden like Princess Evelien here, you have to be very respectful," Sean explained, the kids nodding along. Sean flashed her a smile which she returned, a soft giggle under her breath

"Miss. I was told by the king to give a maiden a flower today, so would you like this flower?" Sean held out the red rose and Evelien laughed softly.

"Yes, of course. Thank you so much." Evelien nodded and held her hand out for the flower, but then Sean took a step closer and tucked the rose behind her ear, luckily the thorns had been removed. Evelien laughed softly and Sean smiled widely, before turning to the kids.

"See, that's what you do." He said and the kids nodded, "now go!"

All the kids ran towards the woman at the flower cart and Sean and Evelien laughed as they all held out coins to her.

"They really like you, don't they?" Evelien asked as the two started walking to the stables.

"I hope so, I talk to all of them a lot and I try to instill good morals in them." Sean shrugged.

"You're a good person. If they follow what you do they'll be fine." Evelien smiled at him and he laughed.

"I hope so."

When the two arrived at the stables, Jameson let them in and guided them to the back, the stables were made of beautiful light wood and there were thin hanging lights that illuminated the inside. Jameson led them to where Ghost and another beautiful brown horse were saddled and ready to go. Evelien smiled and rubbed Ghosts face. Sean grabbed a carrot from Jameson and fed it to his own horse.

"Chestnut is doing well." Jameson said, petting the horse's neck as he undid the gate so they could leave, "whatever was bothering his stomach is gone now."

"Good. He's such a good horse it would be a shame to have him go to a little illness. We'll be back before noon." Sean looked towards a clock that read 9:30 am in green analog. Evelien made her way to Ghost and the horse shook its head.

"Oh, I won't whack ya this time, lovely." Evelien ribbed his side, Sean came over and placed his hands gently on her hips.

"Need help?" Sean teased and Evelien blushed.

"Well, if you're offering," Evelien said and readied herself. As she pushed down on her foot to get herself up, Sean threw her up and let her slide on. Then got on his own horse.

"Sean, go ahead, I'm gonna grab something for Evelien." Jameson quickly clapped in front of Sean to grab his attention and then ran off to another room,

"I'll meet you outside at the path through these doors," Sean said and Evelien nodded, taking the reigns and pulling them aside to guide Chestnut away.

"He gave you a rose, huh?" Jameson knocked on the wall so Evelien looked over,

"Oh yeah, he did," Evelien laughed, "he told some kids that they had to give a flower to a maiden today."

"So it doesn't fall out, let me have it. I'll tie a ribbon around her, and then attach her to your belt." Jameson held his hand out and Evelien gently handed him the rose,

"You seem to know what you're doing, when did you learn?" Evelien said, watching Jameson tie delicate knots.

"I have a girlfriend, had her for about five years now. She lives in our neighboring kingdom with Mark and Amy, her name is Marina." Jameson smiled softly, handing Evelien the rose, then taking the fabric he was using and beginning to tie it to her belt, "she loves Chrysanthemums, so I'll collect some in a glass jar with water and let her carry them with her. Once all the flowers wilt, it's time for her to come back."

"That's so cute." Evelien laughed softly, "I overheard Chase today talking about Sean courting me."

"Oh dear! I know Chase wouldn't say that to your face!" Jameson's smiled widely.

"He didn't know I was there! I think he was trying to get Sean flustered." Evelien laughed softly, Jameson nodded.

"Yeah, Chase is like that. He tries to make light of any situation, he tries to make everyone happy." Jameson smiled, "he's very positive."

"That's good, it just makes it harder to know when he's okay." Evelien shrugged, thinking of Chase made a moment pop in her head.

"Can I ask you a quick question?" Evelien asked, her hands rubbing on her horse's mane.

"Yeah, what's up?" Jameson asked, finishing off the knot.

"I was talking to Chase this morning and he was talking about when he came here when his daughter was still a baby. He said it was around five years ago. Before everything happened.." Jameson's face twisted slightly and he sighed.

"Come back here after your ride, I'll explain. Sean won't ever tell you." Jameson took a few steps back and smiled at Evelien.

"I'll see you by noon." Evelien smiled and took the reigns and guided her horse out of the stables and into the field, calmly up to Sean.

"Hm, oh! Ready to go?" Sean looked at Evelien and the princess nodded.

"Yep! Ready to go." She laughed softly. Sean turned and began to lead them to the beginning of the city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! thank you for reading :>


	4. chapter three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelien decides to go home, Sean finds someone, Henrik joins the group.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!! please note this chapter contains gore !!!

tarting at the main gates, which were made out of stone, they entered the main town area, the homes here were made of wood and brick mostly, a few were made of the same materials they used for the walls. Sean slowed at a crossroad and turned to Evelien,

"Up this straight road is the main street, there are shops, schools, theatres, and such all down this road. On the left side is where the residential area is, the right takes you to the training grounds and the fields." Sean explained and Evelien nodded,

"What type of shops are there?" She asked, moving aside to let a cart through.

"We have jewelers, boutiques, blacksmiths, woodshops, craft stores, grocery stores, and some weaponry stores too. We passed the blacksmith and weaponry store on the way in, they were the two big stone buildings." Sean continued forward and Eveline followed. They went up to the main street, children running around with bags on their backs, mothers carrying their kids. The shops and schools were bustling with activity very early in the morning and the sweet smell of breakfast made Evelien hungry.

"Ey Sean!" A voice shouted and Sean's head turned and he smiled.

"Hey, Marvin!" The king called, and a male approached them. He wore a large black cape, the inside looking like it sparkled. A navy blue button-up shirt and some simple black pants. He didn't wear any shoes for some reason. On his face was a cat mask which only intrigued Evelien further.

"Chase said you have my vials?" Marvin brushed his fingers down his long hair and Sean dug in his bag before pulling out three vials.

"Thank you for that, they worked well." Sean was vague about whatever he was referencing and Eveline assumed it was for privacy.

"And whos this lady friend?" Marvin purred sending a sly smile to Evelien whos face turned red.

"Marvin, don't scare her off you flirt." Sean laughed, lightly smacking Marvin's head, the other male laughing, "Marvin's a huge flirty goofball, it's like his second language."

"Sorry, Princess! Just a habit, sly like a cat some say." Marvin kissed her knuckles formally and smiled at her.

"Jackie might come 'round--." Sean started, Marvin rolled his eyes.

"He came by at dawn, asked me for a potion. Didn't have any made, and he knocked three off the shelves! Had to remake them, and I need these for the potions too." Marvin shook the newly given bottles.

"He's acting off, it's bothering me." Sean crossed his arms, leaning back a bit.

"Well, he gets in his funks when something ruins his plans. Talk to him-"

"He attacked Evelien. Not physically but he got in her face." Eveline nodded along, rubbing her hands along the fabric of her dress. She looked down the street, pretending to be interested in the hustle.

_Don't cry over a man's stupidity. Don't cry over anyone, or anything, you cannot control._

"He did?" Marvin stared at Sean, burning metaphoric holes into his skin.

"Yeah. I took him off duty until further notice." Sean said, running his hand through his hair and then scratching his chin. Eveline noticed he seemed to do it a lot.

"Well, If he swings by I'll try to straighten him out. I've gotta go make more potions so I'm off! See you guys around!" Marvin waved and turned down a path, Sean turned to Evelien.

"Do you want to see the rest or do you want to go pick up Chase and Henrik to go see what happened to The Southern Isles?" Sean asked, looking towards the castle then back at Evelien.

"I want to go to see my home." Evelien nodded confidently, even though she felt her stomach twist. Sean nodded and headed to the castle, through the main town and through the castle walls. Riding up to the stables Sean gave a smile, Chase was on a horse accompanied by a man Evelien hadn't met yet.

"Sean, are you sure about this?" The new male said and Sean sighed.

"Evelien said she wanted to, Henrik." Sean crossed his arms, one hand rising to scratch his chin.

"Well, I don't know how good of an idea it is to go somewhere that was attacked yesterday." Henrik seemed way too cautious for her liking.

"Look, Henrik, I don't mean to be rude but this is my home. I grew up within those walls and if there's anything or anyone I can salvage from the attack then I'm going to. Who knows what we might find. That's why we need to go as soon as we can." Evelien looked back at Sean almost for confirmation to keep talking, the male nodded, "Frankly, I know the kingdom better than the backs of my hands. If anyone should take you, and say when we should go, it's me. The princess of the whole kingdom."

"Sorry." Henrik sighed, "the Doctor instinct in me just kicks in with situations with this. We don't know who we'll find, alive or not, and we don't know what we'll find. You are right, but we do need to be as cautious as possible."

"I agree with that, completely," Evelien nodded, smiling st the pleasant agreement. He was much different than Jackie would've been, Evelien was happy about that at least.

"Glad to see we come to an agreement. I think we should go now, it's a bit away and we need to make it there and back before nightfall." Sean said, Chase smiled and held up a lantern.

"Just in case, Sean, Jameson told us to bring some lanterns." Chase smiled and the group nodded, "oh and here guys."

Evelien snatched a cape out of mid-air and nodded, "thanks!"

Sean was less graceful, nearly dropping it. Henrik and Chase already had ones on, Chase smiled wide, "Course. Let's go."

___

Ghost slowed along the sandy path and Evelien sucked in an anxious breath, Sean stopping on Sam next to her. Henrik and Chase behind them. The once vibrant red flags along the outside walls were dark, tattered and ruined. The wooden gate was burst open, charred like it had been set aflame. The brick walls had fallen in some sections and were clearly unstable to be near. It looked like hell had burnt through here.

Evelien slid off Ghost and rubbed his shoulder, not paying much attention to where she was touching. Immediately the conversation of caution slipping out of her mind as she walked forward, only when she heard Sean unsheathe his sword did she draw her own.

"Holy shit," Evelien whispered. Entering the walls of the main castle, Eveliens much smaller kingdom was in shambles. There was a row of houses alongside two large fields, completely burnt down and clearly salvaged for supplies. Evelien continued, now faster through the town.

"Hello? Anyone?" Evelien shouted, her voice echoing in the silence. She looked behind her to see Sean leading Ghost and Chestnut in one hand, his sword in the other. Henrik and Chase still on top of theirs, looking around with swords drawn. She continued to the main square, the fountain was broken, water having spilled onto the concrete. She could see it pulling red liquid down with it into a hole used to drain when it flooded. Evelien tore her eyes away and went right to the castle.

"Mom? Dad? Elise? Lydia? Brianna?" Evelien spoke almost frantically as she shoved the door aside, Sean assisting her by shouldering it aside.

"Hello? Anyone, please!" Evelien shouted again, Sean followed silently.

"Where is everyone! Where are they." Evelien whispered, tears filling her eyes. Sean took a step up and placed his hand gently on her shoulder. She leaned into his touch and rested against him, Sean brushing a few tears from her face gently.

"We need to look more thoroughly, if they were attacked they might be hiding." He said, his hand dragging down her arm then squeezing her wrist and part of her palm before dropping to his side.

"Okay." She whispered, and the group split up. Evelien went upstairs in the castle and ransacked every room, even her own. Sean stayed with her, Henrik and Chase went to check the farm area.

"I don't think anyone's here," Evelien sighed, looking down the hall. Then freezing and digging in her bag and pulling out a key.

"The safe room!" She shouted and ran down a hall, forcing Sean to follow.

"My parents never let me go in, they said it was only for emergencies! Maybe someone's in there!" Her hope was high and as she approached the room it got higher. The door was stuck closed which meant someone had locked it from inside, and as Evelien turned the key it popped open. But it wasn't what the two wanted.

_Bodies_. Hundreds. Laying all with the same injuries. Evelien screamed and fell to her knees, Sean immediately rushing to her side and pulling her to him.

"My kingdom. My kingdom." She whispered over and over, Sean couldn't do anything but hold her tightly. It was probably the worst thing Sean had ever seen. Dozens and dozens of bodies laying with slit throats, contorted joints, blood all over. The bodies were staring, but one blinked.

"Hey!" Sean yelled, gently moving Evelien aside and walking into the pit. Evelien sniffled but stood while seeing him move. Sean walked over to the body and they slowly sat up, shaking. It was a child, couldn't have been over 10 years old, and behind her rose a teenage girl.

"Elise! Brianna!" Evelien cried, rushing over to the two and hugging them tightly. Sean sighed softly and then walked around the room. Pausing he looked at the door where he saw Chase and Henrik approaching and went outside. Evelien helped the two girls up off the bloody floor and guided them outside.

"What's in there?" Chase asked watching Evelien emerge.

"Henrik, you go in with me, Chase, help these girls get onto the horses. We've seen everything. Evelien do you need to get anything from here?" Sean asked, his mood had completely changed. He was being more cold and calculated than usual. Evelien shook her head, and the two girls held her arms as Chase led them outside.

Sean turned to Henrik and the two reentered the room. Checking every single body for a pulse, they managed to find one other kid who was barely holding on. Henrik decided to at least try to bring him back, they sealed the room shut as they left and planned to come back to give everyone a proper burial in a few days time. Upon getting outside, they saw Chase had helped all three girls onto Ghost and got back onto their own before heading back to Trelan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!  
don't hesitate to leave Kudos or comment on your thoughts!


	5. chapter four.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelien uses magic, Marvin tells a story, Sean gets punched.

Evelien stayed in the infirmary until she was kicked out politely by Henrik. She walked back to her room a shell of her usual self, her feet dragging and her head hung low. She slipped into her room and BB meowed, digging in her bag she tossed some bread at him. BB meowed again and Evelien grabbed a nightdress from the closet and went into the bathroom. She took off her crown and inspected it in the light, setting it in the sink she slowly took out her hair and changed into her nightdress. Taking her day dress to her closet she hung it up, looking at her crown in her hand she screamed in anger and threw it across the room. It shattered against the vanity mirror and she fell to her knees, the dress splaying around her as she sobbed hysterically. The sound of the door opening and her being pulled into someone's chest not even bothering her, she just turned and hugged the person as tight as she could.

She woke up encased in her blankets arms, now calmer than the night before. She was so comfortable, so warm, where she was. She didn't want to move, but the sun hitting her face made her realize she had too. Slowly fluttering her eyes open she saw the curtains had been drawn back, and some breakfast was set on the table with a small note. She sat up and grabbed the note, handwritten in still-wet ink.

_'Evelien,_

_Don't worry about doing anything today, Henrik is busy in the infirmary and has requested no visitors for the next two days. Chase brought you the food, Samantha and his son send their regards. Marvin will be coming up to help you with something, he didn't specify what. Jameson will be coming by as well. Please note that I will come by later, most likely around supper and discuss what we will do about your kingdom. If you aren't ready to discuss it tonight we can hold off until tomorrow, but Henrik suggested getting the bodies buried by the end of this week. Today is Tuesday._

_Yours,_   
_Seán Mcloughlin.'_

Evelien sighed softly, a smile on her lips. She ate the food. Some bread, eggs and some sort of thinly sliced meat. She drank some water that has been placed there too. She split most of the meal with BB, reminding herself to ask Chase about feeding the cat. After eating she went to the bathroom mirror and fixed her hair by pulling it into a half up half down style. She then changed into a simple red day dress she usually wore around her kingdom of warm days, deciding to instead take a walk through the garden to Jameson. He had promised to tell her about the history of the castle, and even after yesterday, she was still interested to learn.

Passing by a group of children, she waved softly. They smiled and stood at attention and Evelien laughed, "at ease kids."

"What's our task for today?" The little boy, who Evelien remembered as the one from before.

"I want you all to go hug your mothers, fathers, or siblings," Evelien said softly, smiling at the kids. They looked at each other and the same one raised his hand.

"Yes?" Evelien asked, kneeling down on the sandy path.

"What if you don't have a family..?" The child asked and Evelien sighed.

"Hug me, in turns of course." Evelien held out her arms and gave each kid a hug and a kiss on the head. Every single kid, none of them had parents. It broke Evelien's heart to see, but they all seemed to travel in a group so someone had to be watching them too if they all had their own money and seemed to be decently fed. After finishing hugging them, she only realized someone was watching when the kids giggled. She stood and brushed off her knees before looking over and seeing Marvin and Jameson.

"Go on kids, we need to have a talk." Marvin waved and all the kids stared at him in awe before slowly walking away. Evelien hid a laugh. Jameson smiled and have Evelien a hug as a greeting, Marvin did the same. Marvin began the walk, nodding to Jameson.

"So you want to know the history of Trelan?" Jameson asked and Eveline nodded,

"If I'm going to be staying here I might as well know." She shrugged, the trio found a bench and sat. Jameson thought for a moment before he started explaining.

"Sean's kingdom is a hierarchy, he was supposed to inherit it when he turned forty and to start training when he was thirty. So five years ago, when he was 18, his mother became violently ill. She was horrible, we had doctors from all overcome in. Henrik was able to keep her healthy for three months before he could do nothing more and she passed. Sean was devastated, it was so sudden. Every kingdom came by and paid respects, we moved on a bit until Sean's eldest brother Angus found his father dead with a sword stabbed through his chest. He committed suicide to be with his wife." Jameson sighed, looking up. Evelien felt a deep feeling in her stomach like something was dragging her down. She sighed softly, Jameson shifted and then Marvin continued.

"Sean was destroyed. His brother Angus disappeared shortly after they discovered his fathers note saying that Sean would immediately take the throne. Angus thought that since he was older he would take over, he had no idea about Sean taking it over before the note even when plans had already been made. We don't know where he is, we can't find him. Uh, Sean took over right after and started training. I trained him in magic and spirituality, Henrik in medicine, Jackie even though he was his brother he already was destined to be the head knight and was fine with that so he trained him in fight, Jameson did farm tending and such, Chase was manners and the likes. A couple of other royals came along and helped like King Felix and King Mark. Sean learned everything he could and he did so much. He just needs to court someone and then he'll have everything covered." Marvin had stood while talking and was pacing now, his hands moving wildly,

"Does he have to court someone? Or is it just customary?" Evelien sighed, "for the longest time my friend Suzy was trying to get my mom to set the two of us up."

"It's customary, he doesn't have too though. He probably won't for a while." Jameson shrugged and Evelien stood to match Marvin, holding her arm out and helping Jameson up. The three began to walk, quietly chatting when they heard shouting from a corner in the garden. Marvin drew his sword and pushed forward, Jameson stayed back with Evelien and guarded her.

"This isn't you, relax!" Sean panted, dodging another strike from the townsperson. Evelien froze upon noticing the black electricity gathering in their hands, she shot her own out and knocked the male back with a shield before sending it to guard Seán. He looked back at Evelien and the princess nodded back at him. The male threw himself at Sean but was blocked by the shield, Evelien grunted softly as bruises started to form on her arm as the male beat at the shield trying to get in. Marvin ran towards the man and shoved him down and fought him hand to hand. Evelien went to put a shield up when Marvin screamed in agony and shock before falling down. Evelien looked around to find Jameson but couldn't see the stable worker.

"Shit." She whispered, her bruised arms about to give out as the townsperson attacked the barrier she put around Marvin.

"Hey!" She shouted, she turned and snarled before charging her. She dropped the other two shields and slowly backed up, blocking his attacks by sending up shield after shield. Her arms grew weaker and weaker until she collapsed, the male then bashing her with his fists until his shoulder was pulled back only seconds later and a fist collided with his jaw. He fell to the ground and Evelien slowly sat herself up, Sean immediately was by her side.

"Evelien, Evelien can you hear me?" He said, waving his hand in front of her face. Evelien nodded and went to stand when she gasped at the pain on her side, her hands holding to immediately.

"It's okay, breathe slowly I think he snapped your rib when he kicked you." Sean seemed so aggravated but calm.

"Jackson, get him to the jail and lock him up. Jameson and Chase, take Marvin to Henrik and I'll bring Evelien." Sean dropped down and lifted Evelien up by her unhurt side and carried her behind the others. With every shake of her body she gasped in pain, Sean felt horrible for her but he couldn't do much more than getting her to Henrik.

"He was possessed." Evelien shifted, her eyes staring at Sean. The way she said it so plainly sent a chill down his spine

"I know. I'm gonna have to organize a meeting of some sort." Sean said, Chase, holding open a door and letting the two inside. Setting her down on a bed inside, Sean then went and slowly undid her corset and took it off so she could breathe easier. Blood was soaking the red fabric.

"She's bleeding Hen." Sean took a few steps back and Henrik was over almost immediately.

"I'll have to cut your dress, is that okay?" Henrik looked at Evelien who nodded.

"I can sew it," she said softly, afraid to talk too loud. Henrik cut the seam of her dress from the top all the way down to her hips where the skirt started and then cut two lines through to allow him to pull back the fabric. Using hair clips to hold the fabric back Henrik set his hands on the wound and Evelien felt like she was burning on the inside. The blood didn't slow for about five minutes, then her skin burned until Henrik removed his hands.

"What the.." She whispered, looking at him.

"I can heal." Henrik shrugged, "it kinda burns me and the patient, but nothing stays so it's foolproof really. It isn't permanent though so I do recommend no running, jumping, horse riding, or sword fighting. Activities of the like too, until you are fully healed. Which should take two more visits, so by the end of this week." Henrik nodded and moved over to other patients hidden by a curtain. Evelien grabbed her corset while Sean undid the hair clips and she slipped it on loosely with Sean's help. Once they were ready to go the two walked, very slowly, back to the main castle so Evelien could lie down.


	6. chapter five.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelien cries, Sean shows his past in pictures, There's a third Mcloughlin brother.

Evelien stumbled into the room and Sean steadied her with his arms placed around her waist.

"Okay, let's get you changed into something not cut up and comfy." Sean set the woman on the bed and opened the closet, picking one of the nicer nightgowns he handed it to Evelien who went to take off her dress.

"Woah! Woah okay, hold on." He laughed grabbing the door handle, "tell me when you're done."

Sean stepped outside and he heard shuffling, then a loud whump then a soft whimper, and shuffling before there were a final thump and soft cursing.

"Sean... I'm stuck." A voice mumbled from inside and Sean slipped open the door, stepping in. Evelien had gotten the dress mostly off but was tangled in the skirt.

"Oh jeez, okay." Sean leaned down and sat the other up before slowly tugging the dress off her and freeing her. Keeping his eyes on her face, he helped her up and then turned and grabbed the nightgown, Evelien held her arms up and Sean slipped the dress over her head and then used his hands to gently straighten it out so it fits nicely. It surprised Sean how it fit her so snug, it was his sisters, they must've had the same build. Evelien just watched him as he looked down at her as he fixed the dress. Sean looked back up to see Evelien watching him, she didn't look away. Sean's cheeks reddened before Evelien gave him a slamming hug. Sean stepped back to balance and wrapped his arms around her, he held her loosely as to not hurt her.

"I'm so scared. What am I gonna do Sean? My whole kingdom is gone." She whispered, curling her fists in his dress shirt. He didn't reply, just held her as he thought.

"Well, you can stay here. We're always here to watch over you. We're gonna figure out what to do about the bodies and the burials, okay? Come lay down, let's talk." Sean guided her to the bed and laid her down, standing by the bed until Evelien tapped the blankets and he sat.

"I'm a little loopy from Hen... can we talk about something else?" Evelien whispered, her hands tracing the pattern on the blanket.

"What do you wanna talk about then?" Sean asked.

"I was talking to Jameson and Marvin today and they were talking about how you're supposed to court someone some time." Evelien shrugged, "what's the deal with courting in your kingdom?"

"I'm supposed to court by my twentieth, I kinda broke that tradition." Sean laughed, "I'll probably court soon. If it's not marriage then at least I'll tell her I fancy her."

"I was set up." Evelien shrugged, "my friend Suzy had been trying to get me to either get with you or with someone else.. my mom told me that she picked my husband and I freaked out on her. Our last conversation was an argument. I wish I didn't say those things."

"Your friend Suzy? She knows Arin and Dan?" Sean asked looking at Evelien who was laying there and she nodded. Sean's face reddened a bit but with a quick shake, the blush disappeared.

"I know her, she's a big sweetheart." Sean smiled and Evelien nodded, "don't worry about the last conversation though, I'm sure that she's rooting you on from wherever mothers go."

"Mhm... I wanna bury everyone separately. I want them all to have their own headstones, and I want it to be at the Southern Isles. I don't want a mass party, just a few people and anyone who shows." Her brown eyes looked to Sean and he nodded. A bit shocked for a few seconds at how she just suddenly started talking about it as if it didn't bother her.

"Y-Yeah okay. I can do that." Sean nodded, grabbing a paper from the desk and a quill. He stood and scribbled down the note,

"I'll go and tell you who everyone is. There are around 100 people in my kingdom, so I can name them all." She concluded, sniffling softly and turning away from Sean. Rolling onto her hurt side.

"I'll be right back." Sean left and Evelien burst into heaving sobs, her whole body shaking. Every breath felt like a stab on her left side and she couldn't help the tears that rolled down her face faster. When the door clicked open, the sound of it shutting was muted by Sean's heavy steps and him slowly rolling Evelien over to face him. This alleviated some pain from her side but the fast-paced breaths didn't help. Sean sat her up and slipped in the bed, placing her head on his one thigh as his legs hung off the side of the bed. He gently ran his fingers through her hair and wiped the tears from her face. He didn't shush her or try to calm her down, he just held her and let her get everything out of her system,

"Get it all out, Evelien," he whispered, "it's better if you get it out now."

"I miss everyone, I want to see my parents again." She curled her hands into fists and Sean nodded. He thought for a few seconds before reaching in his pocket and unfolding a little picture and showing it to Evelien. She wiped her eyes and looked at it.

_Sean stands with six other siblings, two brothers, and four sisters. Jackie has his arm around Sean's shoulders, the other brother has his arm the same way and they stand in the middle. The four sisters split two and two on either side of their brothers, standing politely and smiling._

"This is my family. Sloane, Genesis, Jackie, Me, Angus, Colette, and Keva." He pointed to each kid, "then my mom Sloane and my dad Jackson."

"Your mom was very beautiful," Evelien whispered and Sean folded the picture back up and set it on the end table.

"You miss them a lot at first, slowly it goes away but something will happen. You see a dress, hear a certain song, see a certain flower, it brings you back to them. You don't ever forget it." Sean moved Evelien over and covered her up with the blankets, moving them around her and propping them up so she couldn't roll on her injured side. He sat down next to her and ran his hands through her hair again, she leaned into his touch and he smiled.

"I'm gonna try to sleep this off, okay?" She whispered, her eyes fluttering closed and gently leaning into his touch again.

"I'll stay here until you do, my room is down the hall. It's the room after the double doors if you need me, come get me." Sean said and continued running his hands through her hair until she softly snored

-

When Evelien awoke the next morning, there was food on the table. She slowly sat herself up while grumbling about the shooting pain in her side. Once settled she grabbed the food and tossed some bread to BB who had jumped on the bed at some point in the night. Grabbing a note she watched as a few.

_'Eve,_

_Jameson told me about telling you the history of Trelan, which I don't mind at all. Here are a few pictures to better help you visualize it. Mostly from my childhood, or my teen years. Two are recently taken, however. See you around noon._

_With love,_

_Sean Mcloughlin'_

"Short and sweet huh?" She whispered, to no one in particular. Grabbing the food she scarfed down the eggs and potatoes. Leaving a bit for BB to eat as she grabbed the pictures, clipped together with sort of hairclip. She slipped them out of the hold and looked at them.

_It started with a picture of Sean's mother standing as a crown is placed on her head. She's wearing a wedding dress and his father is standing next to his mother as she gets the crown. He's wearing his king uniform and smiling widely._

_The next picture was of Sean as a baby. A woman who had Sean's eyes and smile, and a man who looked strikingly similar to Jackie, though age wouldn't match up, holding the two. Baby Sean has his hands stretched up and was smiling. His mom had tears rolling down her face with a happy smile, his dad just sat with a gentle smile supporting his sons head._

_Then it's a picture of Sean as a toddler, looking over baby Jackie with his older brother Angus watching over both of them. Their four sisters sitting in a circle to contain the children from running wild. The older girls, the youngest being Angus' twin, smile at the camera. Their mother and father seem to be absent from the moment._

_Another picture is of Sean training with his dad at an elementary age, his hair is longer and side-swept, as he has a big smile on his face missing his two front teeth. Balancing on his head is a makeshift crown made of some metal, clearly made it withstand the childlike abuse. In his hand is a wooden sword, his father's sword the same as his own._

_Now around 18, Sean sits at his sick mother's bed. Her face is dipped in and sickly, her cheeks are rosy and she's pale. She's smiling at Sean, her one hand wrapped tightly around his and her other holding his cheek. Sean has his hand holding both of hers as tears roll down his face. He knows that she's dying and knows there's nothing he can do._

_The final photo is of Sean kneeling before his brothers as they set his crown on his head. All wear royal garbs and have tear-filled eyes. Jackie's hair is dyed green like he had gotten knighted, Angus has a weak smile on his lips. Jackie and Sean look almost like twins, Angus has much darker hair and skin from working in the fields._

Evelien sets down the imagines and sighs, she can't imagine how hard Sean's life was. Her hand picking up the final one as she stared at Angus, her eyes squinting as she curled her fingers in BB's fur.

"He looks so familiar." She mumbled, hearing the door open her head snapped up to see Sean entering the room.

"Oh! Good morning, when I dropped off the food you were still asleep and that was only minutes ago. Sorry for not knocking." Sean's face was a bit red and Evelien smiled, her hand leaving BB while the other set down the image.

"Oh! Whose cat is this?" Sean held his hand out and BB instantly nuzzled against it and allowed Sean to pet him.

"He's mine actually. He's been chilling in here since I got here." The cat purrs against Sean's hand causing the two to laugh. Sean sits down on the bed and sets a bottle on the table.

"What's that?" Evelien motioned to the bottle,

"Oh! It's medication from Henrik, Marvin helped him out with it. You're supposed to take a spoonful after eating breakfast and after dinner, just for today and tomorrow." Sean grabbed the bottle again and fished a spoon out of his pocket. He filled up the spoon with the medicine and held it out to Evelien. Instead of grabbing the spoon and taking the medicine herself as Sean had expected, she just took the spoon in her mouth instead, taking the medication with a scowl. She swallowed it and coughed a few times

"Ugh, it tasted like badly aged whiskey and ashes." She complained, Sean laughed softly, setting the spoon next to the bottle.

"I haven't had whiskey in ages, I've just been so busy." Sean shrugged.

"Maybe one night when you aren't I can bring you.." Evelien's sentence stopped midway. She sighed and shook her head. Sean's hand on her knee made her jump slightly, he squeezed it as he met her gaze. Something about the look was so calming.

"It sucks, I know." Sean whispered, "You didn't get to say goodbye, or I love you. It sucks but there's sadly nothing to do."

"I wish." She whispered. Sean sighed and grabbed her hand slowly as if asking for consent to do so. She didn't flinch or say no so he intertwined their fingers and smiled. The two stared at the other in a calm, not awkward way. There were three knocks placed on the door, and Sean disconnected their hands whilst sighing.

"Come in," Sean said, BB jumping off the bed and back onto the dresser as the door creaked open. Chase stepped in hastily, breathing heavy as if he had run all the way to the room.

"Jackson requests your presence downstairs, Sean. He says you two need to talk now, it's urgent." Chase nodded, then stepped back into the hallway and shut the door. Sean thought for a few seconds then stood from the bed.

"Sean, before you go come here." Evelien held her hand out and Sean walked over. She sat up and cupped the left side of his jaw before kissing his left cheek.

"For good luck."

Sean left the room in a flustered daze.


	7. chapter six.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sean is strict, Chase reveals his past, The funeral is beginning to be organized.

The dark oak door shut softly, the king tipping his head forwards and nearly losing his crown.

What the hell had gotten into him?

Regaining his composure, he started to walk down the hall. Passing a few maids who looked at him curiously. Was Evelien wearing lipstick? Had it smudged onto his face? Was he blushing? That's when Chase stopped him by pressing a hand to his chest while he walked distractedly.

"Sean! What is going on with you? All red and flustered? I left you only a minute ago!" Chase crossed his arms, giving Sean a playful smile.

"Evelien." Sean laughed softly, "I have no idea why it bothers me so much but she kissed my cheek for good luck."

"Oh well not just good luck, you see in the Southern Isles—"

"Chase, pause. How do you know this?"

"I grew up there?" The comment slammed into Sean like a thrown brick. That was why Chase was so intent on helping Evelien.

"You grew up there?" Sean's eyes went wide, Chase nodded sullenly.

"I lived in the main farming section with my mother. Once I turned seventeen I married Stacy, Sammie was born, then when Grayson was born when I was almost nineteen I took the kids and came here, as you would know." Chase shrugged off the sad story Sean knew all too well. A father looking for the best in his children, and nearly dying to get it.

"But about the cheek kiss?" Sean gently guided the conversation and smiled at Chase's excited smile. His hands waving and moving as he spoke,

"In the Southern Isles, it's rare for people to kiss the cheeks of those outside of their family. Usually, when they do the whole kiss cheeks thing it's at a courting or at a wedding, rarely before. It shows trust, love, and contentment with the other." Chase smiled at Sean's confused face, "she's basically saying that you make her happy, Sean. She's happy that you helped her and she may even be looking to court."

Chase was always perfect at ending conversations with jokes and sly comments, and it took a second for it to sink in. Sean's face burned bright red but before he could slip his comment in, Chase was gone. Sighing softly and rolling his eyes at his friend's behavior, Sean let his face slowly cool down. Then he made his way down the main stairwell. Jackie stood by the thrones, his head tipped as Sean approached. As the sound of Sean's shoes on the carpet ceased, the silence in the room was deafening and the tension was thick enough to cut with a blade.

"Jackson," Sean spoke slowly, his hand brushing against the hilt of his sword. Jackson sighed and kneeled down on one knee before his younger brother.

"Sean, rumors have spread to the townsfolk about The Southern Isles Massacre—"

"Massacre. Is that what it's being called." Sean scoffed, "continue,"

"People are afraid of what that could mean for our kingdom, we've managed to calm down a majority of the public but people are still whispering about it." Jackson looked up at his brother and saw Sean's grim, exhausted face staring back.

"They will be fine. Let them worry themselves, I already have a plan in motion." Sean nods to his brother to stands before bowing.

"Yes sir, I send my regards to Evelien."

"Jackson, we need to talk about your recent behavior." Sean sent a glare to his brother who nodded.

"The way you have been acting over the past couple of days is unacceptable for someone st your rank. You are supposed to show newcomers respect, even when she first arrived you were rigid and disrespectful." The king was unable to stay as formal as he wished, "Jackson, what in the seven circles has gotten into you?"

"I'm not sure." Jackie looked down at his brother, not by much however, "I felt as if her appearance was sudden, the rumors have only added to my wariness of her."

"There is nothing to be wary about with her. She is grieving, lost, and confused. It's a lot for someone to take in, being the only completely healthy survivor. Her parents passed, much like our own." Sean couldn't shake the picture in his mind of the bloody pit full of bodies. Some were mutilated, others weren't. There was no pattern or reason., "you need to take a step back and breathe, which is why I'm sending you with the crew in the morning to go and recover all bodies from the kingdom with Henrik. You can see what is left of a once-thriving, healthy kingdom. See what her world has become and change your perspective on it all."

"Yes, Sean. I am truly sorry for my behavior, I will relax around her. I do not know why I was acting in such a manner, it was disrespectful and unjust." Jackie kept his ridged Knight attitude which made his younger brother smile.

"You're a good Knight Jackie, you just need to relax sometimes. You try to protect me from everything, somethings will be inevitable." Sean nods to Jackie, "go see Henrik to prepare, you will leave at dawn."

"Yes, Sir," Jackie nodded, turning sharply and leaving the throne room. Sean sat back on the throne and ran his hand through his hair, letting out a breath of stress as it rolled off his body.

"Chase," Sean called, hearing some footsteps Chase appeared by his side.

"Yes?" Chase asked. Folding his arms behind his back.

"Find a mourning dress in one of the closets for Evelien along with accessories. She will need it as soon as possible. My mothers closet should have one. Arrange for a mass burial at The Southern Isles, flowers, new gowns. Everything. I cannot bring myself to organize another—" Seans head dropped down before he finished, his hands touching his face. Chase seemed to understand, gently setting his hand on the king's shoulder and squeezing it.

"Of course, Sean. I understand. I'll talk to Jameson about arranging." Chase's voice was soft as he left the throne room. Sean stood as soon as he heard the door to his parent's room open and walked out of the castle. Wiping at his cheeks with the backs of his hands, adjusting his clothing as he turned to the doorway. He'd grab his horse from Jameson and ride over to Marvin, he needed more medicine anyways.


	8. chapter seven.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People go missing, Chase writes a letter, Evelien's scared.

Jameson told Sean the bodies were ready at noon, the grave was dug. All that was needed now were headstones, so the naming would have to be done. Chase was told to get Evelien ready, he rushed away. An hour or so later Evelien came down in a black gown, a hat with a veil around it hiding her face. She walked with confidence despite the negative nature of her outfit. Sean wore all black as well and guided Evelien to the stables.

Half of Trelan showed up at The Southern Isles on horses, in carriages, on foot. Some had been working to clean and prep the bodies, others had heard the whispers on the streets. Evelien and Sean walked along with the carts of people and Evelien named everyone. She had how old they were, where they worked, their title, and full name. Chase followed and wrote all the information down. Then Evelien stalled at the last body, her hand brushing against Sean's as she trembled.

"Evelien?" Sean asked softly, turning to her.

"We checked everywhere, correct?" She whispered.

"We did, and I had the other groups recheck and move rubble aside," Sean replied, his hand gripping hers softly,

"Sean. Half of the population isn't here, there are around a hundred people. How many were there here, Chase?" She turned to the male who looked back down at the scroll he was holding.

"Sixty-three."

"Holy..." Sean muttered, looking around.

"They might not be dead, but them not being here after this whole fiasco might not be the best. What if they're possessed by his magick. We've already seen it happen before." Evelien felt Sean squeeze her hand and she met his gaze.

"We'll write letters to the other kingdoms and I'll have a messenger send them off, okay? I'm sure if they ran off they're around at the other kingdoms." Sean smiled softly, to give her some reassurance. Evelien nodded and walked alongside the graves to the beginning, Sean taking his leave to find a shovel to help.

Every funeral was short but unique. Women had magnolias, white tulips and white carnations thrown upon their bodies before they were buried. Children had yellow roses and lilac, Men had nasturtiums, rosemary, and violets thrown on them. Evelien knighted a handful of people using her more decorative sword, engraved with her name and an image of a rose. It was meant for these moments and Sean was surprised when she had grabbed it from Chase. When they filled the dirt over the body she would place her hand on the dirt and murmur a prayer of safe travels to the afterlife, she'd kiss the tips of her fingers and place her fingers in the dirt and dig them in a bit like a goodbye kiss. She requested anemone flowers, purple hyacinths, and snapdragons to be planted in front of the graves as well. After every grave was done the sun was beginning to set, people walked alongside the graves with blank headstones and left gifts for them all. Coins, flower bundles, jewelry. Evelien watched for a bit, Sean approaching her from the cart he had helped load up with supplies.

"We can go back to Trelan now if you wish," Sean spoke soft, watching Evelien's face. Most of the people had started to mount their horses or get settled in wagons to head back to Trelan.

"There's a tradition I want to do first." Evelien sighed, "but it has to be just me."

"Almost everyone's gone, I'll wait by the gate for you. Ghost is there too." Sean nodded and walked off to meet with the last group, coaxing them out. Evelien walked and sat on her knees in front of all of the graves, facing them. She held her palms up in her lap, her fingers slightly curled. Her magic swirled around her fingers as she whispered a prayer for the lost souls to move on, one the prayer was done she turned her palms down into the earth and dug a small hole. She dropped an acorn into the hole and covered it up. Standing she wiped off her dress and walked to the entrance of the kingdom.

Jameson held the reigns and gently pulled the horse into the stable, waving goodbye to Evelien with his free hand. Sean guided Evelien by the small of her back into the large castle, guiding her up to her room and leaving her to change. Luckily Evelien wasn't loopy from healing magic and was able to change into a nightgown rather quickly.

"Sean, you can come in," she spoke softly from inside the room and Sean opened the door, holding his hand out. He was in night clothes as well, though he wore a thin shirt and pants.

"We're going to go down to the dining hall to write the notes." He said, Evelien nodded and followed him down. Their two sets of bare feet hitting the carpets softly as they walked through the shadows. Chase was already there with three chairs pulled out. He sat and the two royals followed his action,

"So we should start with what we want to write," Chase said, grabbing a note pad and a quill. Evelien hummed in thought.

"Those who are possessed are dangerous, they attack and use lightning to stun opponents. They're hostile towards anyone, even those they know." Sean said.

"we should describe the aftermath of The Southern Isles as well." Evelien sat, leaning forward, "it will give them an idea on how bad the damages of the possessed can be."

"Okay, mention a mandatory meeting in two days time. Them or their spokesperson must come to speak about how to take care of all of this." Sean mentioned and Chase nodded.

"Tell them I'm safe here too.." Evelien leaned back, yawning.

"Okay, ill write this up and you guys can read it in the morning. You both look exhausted, get some rest and let me know if you think of more to add." Chase waved the two off and Sean stood, pulling Evelien's chair back and letting her get up before he pushed the chairs in again. Chase was already writing quickly and Sean figured he'd come down later to check on him.

Evelien got back to her room and BB meowed loudly, looking to the left BB rubbed against her and she smiled. Sitting down she heard three knocks and looked up,

"Come in?" Evelien grabbed the ribbon Sean had given her off the table and began to tie up her hair. Sean appeared in the doorway with a soft smile,

"I wanted to check up on you, today must've been hard." Sean walked over and pulled a chair up to Evelien's bedside.

"Thanks for being worried, I'm doing alright. Just a bit anxious about all those missing people.." Evelien sighed, "but we already figured out what to do about that, so what about me?"

"About you?" Sean asked petting BB who nuzzled against his knee.

"What about me? What are we gonna do about me? Where am I going to go?" Evelien pushed herself back against the bed frame and Sean hummed.

"Well, you're gonna stay here for now. Until we find out what happened to everyone else, then we worry about what comes next."

"What if everyone's dead, Sean?"

"Than you stay here with me, Chase and the others." Sean smiled, grabbing her hand. Evelien sighed.

"I miss my kingdom, I miss all the common folk. My people, my subjects.." She sighed.

"People in this kingdom already act like you're the queen here too, I've heard whispers over the past week." Sean chuckled and Evelien smirked.

"I'll become queen then. I'll overthrow you."

"Overthrow me? I'd love to see you try." Sean teased and Evelien laughed. The two smiled and joked for a while more about different things, cats, crowns, their kingdoms. Sean went to leave when Evelien called him back and tied a maroon ribbon around his wrist, make of the same fabric as the first dress she wore in Trelan.

"You'll learn the importance of it later," She had smiled at him and bid him goodnight. Sean left with curiosity buzzing through his head, but he'd push it back for now. Chase was a more pressing matter.


	9. chapter eight.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelien talks a lot, Chase sends a message, Henrik heals.

To the sound of clinking, Evelien blinked her eyes open slowly. Chase set down a tray and looked over before giving her a bright smile.

"Ah, good morning Princess Evelien," Chase said softly and Evelien pushed herself up to a sitting position and smiled.

"Good morning Chase. Please just call me Evelien." She nodded to him and he nodded back.

"The letter has been finished, everyone will come in two weeks time since it is after everyone's celebrations for the September Harvest." Chase explained, "I told them that if they found anyone possessed, to bring them to their own jails and lock them up instead of killing them."

"Thanks, Chase. I hope this can all be reversed soon." Evelien looked at pictures on the bedside table and Sean and his family, wondering if she went back to her kingdom if she could find some of her own.

"I agree with you there. The Southern Isles was my home for the first eighteen years of my life, it's a shame to see where it's gone." Chase sighed, Evelien nodded.

"Yeah, and there's not much I can do until we find everyone who survived. I still can't believe what's happened, it's like a fever dream kinda." Evelien smiled softly at BB who clawed at the blanket, passing over a piece of bread for the cat.

"Yeah, I can grab some more food for your cat if you wish. I kept meaning to ask you but there's always so much going on I kept forgetting." Chase smiled and Evelien chuckled.

"I can imagine with everything recently you've been running rampant! If it isn't too much of a hassle, don't worry about breakfast or supper, I usually bring him scraps and he's fine. Start tomorrow so you aren't rushing around more."

"Ah, okay! Thank you for being thoughtful." Chase smiled.

"Oh, I have an idea for the Southern Isles. We need to put guards there just in case people make their way home when they stop their possession." Evelien scratched the top of BB's head, he purred softly in response.

"Good idea. I'll leave you to eat and get ready then." Chase nodded as he left and Evelien repeated the motion. Evelien ate quick and got changed out of her nightgown into a day dress. Sitting back down to finish if her drink and stay on bed rest. Henrik should be visiting soon, as he had given her a few dates he'd be visiting. As if on cue, three knocks were placed on the door.

"Come in," Evelien said softly. I'm walked Henrik, a small box in his left hand as he waved with his right.

"Good morning, Evelien." Henrik sat on the edge of her bed.

"Good morning, Doctor," Evelien replied just as formally.

"I'm going to need you to take off your corset and pull down the top of your dress so I can examine your ribs." Henrik shifted back, setting the toolbox behind him.

"That sounds kinda suggestive." Evelien joked as she untied her corset and pulled down the top half of her dress to show her bruised side.

"Ah, hush. It's my job." Henrik teases back, smiling at her.

"Here ya go," she said turning so she was facing Henrik with her side. Henrik placed one hand on her side and the burning sensation returned from before. After the pain subsides Henrik checked all her ribs to make sure nothing else was broken and leaned back.

"I'm surprised you have no fighting scars, not even on your legs or upper arms from what I can see," Henrik commented as he helped Evelien slip the sleeves of her dress up.

"Yeah, I don't typically do any sort of close combat. I'm usually in defense. My magic is making shields." Evelien extended her fingers and a small reddish-purple shield appeared, pressing her finger against it she showed it was solid.

"What I do get, however," Evelien took the shield down and grabbed the lower sleeve of her dress and pulled it up to her elbows and exposed her bruised forearms, "are bruises for every time I get hit hard enough to damage the barriers. If I strain too much I'll break my arms."

Henrik gingerly grabbed her wrist and turned her arm to inspect the bruises, "Ah, this would explain the no scars thing,"

Evelien chuckled softly as Henrik stood, flashing her a small smile, "well, your ribs are healed enough for walking but I'd still refrain from running, horseback riding, or anything that would put pressure on the ribs or shake them around a lot,"

"Thanks, Henrik, for helping me out even for not knowing me," Evelien gave him a gentle smile and he nodded.

"Of course, it's my job." Henrik fathered his supplies and left the room, Evelien stood and readjusted her outfit and grabbed some shoes. A walk in the garden would be a nice way to see how much she could do since there were a lot of benches in the area from what she had seen before.


	10. chpater nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelien goes for a walk, Sean gives someone money, kids don't know things

Evelien had been waking the extensive garden for hours now and was making her way back to the front when she saw a group of young girls peeking at her behind the bushes. She giggled softly to herself and continued walking along the path. She could hear them rustling behind her and didn't think much of it since she had played in the gardens as a kid. She simply let them be until one was pushed out onto the path a bit in front of her and fell to her face. Evelien gasped softly and made her way over a bit faster.

"Dear, are you alright?" The little girl looked up, scared at first and wiped the blood from her nose. Then tears welled up in her eyes.

"It hurts.." She whispered, and Evelien sighed softly.

"Would you like to go to the doctor? I'm sure he could help you." Evelien helped the girl to her feet and a few other girls left the bushes.

"We're so sorry, Queen Mcloughlin!" One shouted and Evelien nearly choked. _Oh_ _no_.

"Oh, no it's okay and uh... I'm Princess Evelien from the Southern Isles. I'm visiting Sean for a bit to discuss business." Evelien lied through her teeth for the last part, and the girls all said "oh" before blushing.

"Sorry for the mix-up— Uhm." One of the eldest girls said. Now looking st everyone the two oldest were probably around 15-16, then four girls were somewhere between the youngest who was around five years old.

"Sir Chase and Sir Jackie have been trying to court King Mcloughlin for so long we thought they finally did!" The other eldest looking one said, laughing. The little girl who fell rubbing her nose, the eldest leaning down to check the nose.

"For the miscommunication can I?" Another young girl held out a flower crown and Evelien gasped softly.

"It's so beautiful! Here put it around my crown, it should be big enough." The girls giggled and fussed with Eveline's hair, sticking some flowers in her braids too.

Evelien sat there for about ten minutes as the girls pampered her, giggling and talking. Evelien stood once they finished and help her hands out, "Would you guys like to go get something to eat?"

"Yes, please!" One of the girls said and Evelien nodded, the youngest (who had fallen) tugged on her skirt and held her arms up to Evelien. Evelien leaned down and lifted the girl, if she held her on her non-injured side she'd be fine. Leading the girls, Evelien made it to the main cart and the girls pulled out coins to get some food for themselves. One girl bringing Evelien a piece of bread along with her own. As Evelien sat on the edge of the fountain with the girls seated around her, they all joked, danced, and genuinely acted silly for no reason. They just sat there for hours, laughing and talking. The youngest falling asleep at some point with her head resting on Evelien's lap.

"And when he went to jab, I accidentally swiped his sword up instead of blocking and that's why it's there." One of the eldest was telling a story of a scar from a time she had fought Jackie. Listening intently Evelien looked around and smiled when she saw Sean, her whole face lighting up. The girls quickly glanced over and started waving, Sean smiled and made his way over.

"Hello everyone, ladies, Evelien." Sean nodded kindly to them, a few girls saying hello back.

"Good morning, Sean." Evelien smiled kindly as the little girl on her lap sat up and yawned. Sean looked over at her and Evelien rubbed the young girls' shoulders. The literal girl looked over and gasped, quickly hugging Sean's torso who started laughing. Gently lifting the toddler and hugging her. 

"Oh my! I am so sorry!" A feminine voice spoke and Evelien turned and saw a woman and a man.

"Hello, Mrs. Rotenburg, Sir Rotenburg." Sean smiled, "It has been a while since we've spoken."

"We are so sorry about the girls bothering you." Mrs. Rotenburg said, running a hand through her long dark brown hair.

"Bothering?" Evelien asked, "They have been nothing but sweet."

"Mrs. Crissy, It's alright." One of the eldest girls said and the woman sighed.

"How many of these girls are yours?" Sean asked, setting the youngest down who quickly rushed over and hugged the woman.

"Not biologically, but all of them. We adopt them along with my parents." Sir Rotenburg said.

"All of them?" Evelien gasped.

"Yeah, they're all orphaned. We feel bad for them, so we decided to help them all out." The man looked over at his wife and smiled softly.

"That is so noble." Evelien stood, digging in her satchel before pulling out a bag of coins and handing them to the male, "take some coins, please, it would make me feel better."

"Oh no, it's fine!" Sir Rotenburg shook his head and Evelien shook her own, "No please, its the least I can do."

"Here." Sean handed him his bag. The male held both in his hands and smiled widely.

"I could never thank you enough." Mrs. Rotenburg said and Eveline smiled. Sean gently grabbing her upper arm and nodding.

"You have done enough by helping them," Sean said, The woman called the girls and they all waved goodbye before rushing off wither their adoptive parents. Sean smiled as he watched them leave and then turned to Evelien.

"I wish I would help kids like that more," Eveline butted in before Sean could even speak, "One day I will, a cute little button of a kid."

"I think you'd be a great mom, you already had those girls wrapped around your finger. How did you even get talking with them?" Sean sat down, Eveline following on the edge of the fountain next to him.

"Well, one girl fell in front of me. Then they apologized for the girl falling in front of me and called me Queen McLoughlin." Eveline snickered and Sean coughed.

"They--"

"Yeah, I cleared it up though." She smiled at Sean and the two started laughing.

"C'mon. We have some things to work on." 


	11. chpater ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelien reconnects with her townspeople, Jameson makes an announcement, Sean scares people.

Henrik woke Evelien up the next morning, not on purpose. His voice was just loud when Chase had scared him. Evelien had stepped into the hallway, tired and yawning. The two were laughing on the floor which made Evelien giggle along. Chase saw her and stood, helping Henrik up after him.

"Sorry, Miss Evelien. We didn't mean to wake you." Chase said quickly, standing straight and elbowing Henrik who followed.

"It's alright," she laughed, "I'm glad to see happiness in such a dark time."

"Evelien I came by to invite you to come visit Brianna and Lydia at the infirmary." Henrik said, Eveliens face lit up just a bit.

"They're well enough?" Evelien asked.

"Yes, they are. I will be downstairs talking to Seán. You can come get me whenever you are ready to go." Henrik nodded, Evelien nodded back and the doctor left. Chase followed Evelien into her room and helped her pick out her outfit. While she changed Chase brought her some food, when he came back he tied Evelien's corset and began to fix her hair while she ate.

Evelien made her way down the stairs not even ten minutes after Chase had set down the plate. Her hair was tied in a loose ponytail, a few hairs pulled out and fluttering in the wind that passed her. Her dress was semi formal, loose enough that she could run without worrying about tearing. The corset was just tight enough to not slip. Sean saw her and smiled, Henrik lightly elbowing his arm.

"Good morning, gentlemen." Evelien bowed lightly, being formal. Sean smiled and bowed.

"Good morning Evelien, send Brinna and Lydia my regards. I would come with you but I have to review laws and boring Prince stuff today." Sean stood from his throne and gently reached out squeezed Evelien's hand, "be strong, your people will need you now."

"My three people?" Evelien sighed, Sean reached up and tucked a hair behind her ear.

"They need you. I promise." He cupped her jaw and leaned forwards to kiss her head, "I have to go, be strong."

Evelien just nodded, her cheeks a bit red to which Henrik let out a soft chuckled and a mumble. Sean nodded to Henrik and left up the center staircase, a woman standing on top who smacked Sean's head lightly and scolded him as they walked off. Evelien turned to Henrik with a look of confusion, the male laughed before smiling,

"I'll tell you about her on the way over." Henrik began to walk, Evelien not moving for a second before turning and exiting into the courtyard with the doctor. Catching up to him, he stepped aside to let her move up to match his pace.

"That's Mariah. She's one of his teachers as he is training for king." Henrik lifted a hand to block out the morning sun as the pair walked.

"I thought he was king?" Evelien followed his gesture, mentally scolding herself for not bringing her parasol.

"Well, to the people he is. He hasn't learned everything he needs to know yet, however. He knows how to fight, basic medicine, magic, potion brewery, war tactics, farming, and manners. Mariah is teaching him laws and law enforcement, after that another advisor is coming in to teach him about marriage in kingdoms and children and all that. He should be done by then I believe... Hopefully by then he'll be at least telling us who he likes." Henrik cut himself off with a laugh, "though he is bad at hiding it. Watch his eyes and you can see."

Evelien tilted her head a bit confused, she had been learning about this stuff since she was a child. They expected Sean to learn all of it in just a few years? She shook her head to clear it, but she couldn't push away his last statement. Next time they talked she'd have to test it out. Before she could think further into it, the door was opened. Stepping inside the cold room, Evelien followed Henrik as he passed empty gurneys, medical tables and such. Turning down a hallway and pulling back a curtain, Evelien faltered as she looked at the girls.

Brianna was ten, young and happy. With her bright green eyes and blonde hair, her perfect pale skin and small petite frame. She was meant to be Evelien's maid. Like Chase to Sean. The girl sat in the bed, stitches across her collarbone, bandages wrapped around her left eye and some on her arms too. She talked softly, rubbing her hands on the fabric of her dress. Lydia was a dancer, a performer. While also an advisor in the castle, training Brianna. She was known for her looks, now she had a scar along her jaw and her bright hazel eyes had dimmed darker. She was only seventeen. Henrik nodded and Evelien stepped in, her heels clicking. The girls looked over and Brianna shot off the bed and jumped up onto Evelien.

"Eve! Eve! I missed you!" The girl giggled and Evelien lifted her off the floor and squeezed her tight.

"Oh Bri.." Evelien murmured into her hair, swaying slightly as she walked to the child's bed and set her down.

"How are you, _Princess Evelien._" Lydia emphasized and Briannas demeanor quickly changed.

"Sorry..." Brianna whispered and Evelien waved her hand.

"Nonsense. You two went through something horrid. Have some joy if you can." Evelien shot a look to Lydia who laughed softly.

"You of all people know how I am." Lydia sighed, running her fingers through her short ginger hair. Evelien smiled at the teen and rubber her shoulder softly.

"So, what's the plan for the future?" Evelien asked, moving back to the bed, sitting down and wrapping an arm around Briannas shoulders as the child curled into her chest.

"Henrik has us walking around and helping out in the hospital. Mostly delivering things." Lydia started, "he said we're good to start living in Trelan."

"That's great news. Do you know where he said you will be?" Evelien felt Brianna curl deeper and tightened her grip on the child.

"He said possibly inside the castle, near you, since we are technically the last two survivors and your last advisors." Lydia started strong but ended softly, her eyes glancing down before Brianna shot up.

"Why would he leave advisors if he said he wanted—" Brianna shouted.

"Brianna!" Lydia snapped at Briannas outburst, causing the child to slink back down.

"You heard him talk?" Evelien said softly as she turned to the child.

"He was standing by a man, ordering him around. He said 'leave no royals, destroy them.' I heard him Evelien I swear!" Brianna grasped Evelien's hand and the princess sat still.

"Half of our kingdom is missing. The other half is buried, four of us are still alive.." Evelien sighed, her posture breaking as she leaned forward and buried her face in her hands. Brianna detached quickly and sat back a bit.

"Princess Evelien, I am so sorry—" Lydia stood and started to make her way over but before she could Evelien sat up.

"_Princess_. I am the only royal that we know is still alive, how am I supposed to govern three—" Evelien's voice cracked and she stood from the bed.

"Ladies." Evelien wiped her face before turning back, "I need you to tell me everything about what happened with that monster that attacked us."

"After he spoke that's when I ran for your mother." Brianna said, "that's in protocol. Lydia wasn't there, I found her in the throne room."

"Is that all?" Evelien asked, the two girls nodded, "Okay. I need to go talk to the boy, do you know his name?"

"Charles." Brianna said softly, Evelien nodded, "get rest. I hope to see you two around the castle soon."

Brianna and Lydia bid her quiet farewells and Evelien stepped outside, pulling the curtain closed behind her. Turning to see Henrik reading something, she made her way over slowly.

"Henrik—" she cut herself off when the doctor jumped, looking back at her he laughed.

"Yeah?" He shut the book and slipped it back in the desk he was sitting at.

"Where is the boy— Charles?" Evelien sighed, "if he was awake I wanted to speak with him."

"He might not be well enough to talk. Well, let's check." Henrik began to walk and Evelien followed him. Turning a corner they pulled back another curtain to reveal a little boy, sitting up with his head in his knees. Henrik stepped aside and Evelien moved in. The sound of soft clicking on the tile being the only noise besides the boys soft cries.

"Hello Charles." Evelien said softly, sitting at the edge of the bed. The curly head of brown hair stiffened before slowly looking up, green eyes meeting Evelien's brown ones.

"Princess-" he sat up to greet her formally but caught himself in a horrid cough. Evelien rubbed his back softly as he coughed.

"It's alright, let's just talk calmly. No need for a formal introduction." Evelien helped him sit back down, and he slipped under her

"Okay, Princess." Charles' voice was weak and shy.

"How are you doing, Charles? Do you want to share what happened to you?" Evelien kept her tone soft and calm, slowly seating herself next to the boy.

"I'm doing a lot better, Doctor Henrik is really good." Charles said softly, "Uhm. Oh, I was in the main courtyard when the _attack_ started, I guess. I ran into the main throne room to call out the attack like you're supposed to and they followed me in. Your dad, the king, shielded me and took a hit to the shoulder. My mom came in and we ran to the shelter room, she put me in and turned around..."

The boys eyes darkened and he sniffled, looking down, "she got shot by some magic, right through her chest. I saw some of people, the man in black took people and ushered them out under his bidding. Mostly men and older women. While they were under his control he had them ransack the whole castle and beat us. I stood infront of some toddlers, I got hit pretty bad... then he locked the door. I passed out at some point then.."

"You are so brave for standing up for those toddlers, Charles. I think you need to keep pulling through and fight to get better." Evelien rubbed his knee, Charles looked beyond her and sniffled. He nodded and a Evelien smiled to help him feel a bit better.

"Evelien, I have a momma anymore.."

"And you know what, I'm gonna find you the best Mom in all of Trelan." Evelien helped him lay down and kneeled next to his bed, "she's gonna make you food, hug you tightly, sing you lullabies when you can't sleep, maybe even make you clothes and do you hair.."

Evelien kept softly speaking as she rubbed his hand softly, Charles started to drift to sleep. Once the boy had fallen completely asleep she blew his candle out and drew the curtains, turning to the door she jumped. Her hand gripping her sword tightly, Sean stood in the doorway and she dropped her hand and laughed.

"Sean." She spoke soft, moving out of the room. She closed the curtain and Sean held out his arm to her, which she took gently.

"Let's go outside, not to wake the boy. Talk out there." Sean motioned his head, Evelien nodded and followed him out. Henrik nodded to the two as they walked, Evelien's grip on Sean's arm tightened once they got far enough. She leaned on him a bit more as they made their way into the garden.

"My dear, what's wrong?" Sean turned her to face him, his one hand staying on her arm, the other wiping her face.

"Everything, Sean. Everything is wrong." She sighed, stepping back to collect herself.

"I know. It's— hard. My friend Mark, uhm, he had some possessed people. He's sending them over tonight. We'll be able to watch over them. Henrik said Brianna had an outburst, what happened?"

"Good, getting more people here is better— uhm. Brianna saw the man talking he said, "'leave no royals, destroy them.' Sean, my whole family might be dead.." Evelien turned back to him and in the noon soon, her frame was outlined by the yellow glow.

"I hope they aren't, from what I've heard— mutters around the kingdom, they seemed so kind." Sean said softly, Evelien nodded.

"I still think it would be good to integrate some sort of guard post there." Evelien stepped back to Sean and the two started to walk again.

"I'll mention it to—"

Three loud claps interrupted the two, Sean jumped and Evelien's grip tightened quickly. Sean gripped her hand but when he saw Jameson relaxed.

'There's someone awaiting your arrival at the gate.' Jameson smiled softly. Sean nodded to Evelien whos grip loosened.

"Alright, lets go." Sean smiled.


	12. chapter eleven.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the island meets for the first time, Evelien has a heart to heart- twice.

Sean guided Evelien up to the liftgate and Jameson grabbed one of the pegs on a wheel. Sean stepped away and grabbed the other peg of the wheel and the two turned the door. Taking them a few minutes and with a few more people stepping in, the gate was open. Sean held his hand out to Evelien who walked over to him. Sean set one hand on Evelien's waist, holding her beside him they walked to the gate and Evelien smiled politely as she saw chariots and royals standing nearby.

"Thank you all for coming at such short notice." Sean's voice was loud, yet calm and formal. The same tone Evelien recognized from the first time she saw him, "come in, make yourselves at home."

Sean nodded to Evelien and the two walked back to the castle, townspeople within the walls of the castle stepped out of the way and made a path. Jameson, Chase, Jackie, Marvin, and Henrik all stood at the castle doors. For what felt like hours Evelien was greeting royals, some she knew, most she didn't. After the final family went through and a glance at the window showed the girl it was almost sunset. It _had_ been hours.

"Evelien." Sean's voice was delicate, "we're going to have dinner in about an hour to discuss what has happened. I don't know if you'd wish to change or.."

"I am fine how I am, but thank you for the concern." Evelien smiled at him and he smiled back.

"Chase is making me get all dressed up, I don't understand why. This meeting is about the fate of this whole island, not a business meeting." Sean crossed his arms and Evelien laughed softly, reaching up to push some hair out of his face.

"It's because you're hosting everyone, I'm pretty sure." Evelien smiled, letting her gaze linger for a second as she stayed close to Sean, "just let him do what he wants, he loves to dress you up."

"I don't like dressing up, all the fuss over it is ridiculous. I can go in normal clothing and I'll be fine. It's still my kingdom." Sean huffed. Evelien pouted at him to match his irritated which made him perk up a bit.

"You look good dressed up Sean." Evelien complimented him, Henrik's words popping in her head and causing her to look at his eyes. Though his stance was familial and formal, his eyes showed deeper emotions. Ones Evelien stared at, trying to decipher.

"Sean— oh sorry!" Chase's voice chimed from the side. Evelien took a step back and nodded to Sean.

"I'm ready to get dressed, Chase." He said, the look in his eyes brightening to a brotherly family look that Evelien knew from Chase's gaze. She knew that gaze, but why couldn't she read the one he gave her?

"Evelien, are you changing?"

"No, I'm just gonna freshen up. You worry about Sean, Chase." Evelien smiled at him and he nodded.

"Okay, it'll be a little while." Chase guided Sean off and Evelien waited until they disappeared up the center stairs before making her way up herself.

After an hour Evelien found herself between Marvin and Sean in the dining room. Plates cleared and soft laughter from around the table. Sean stood and the table hushed almost instantaneously, a sense of power off of Sean's gaze.

"I'd like to thank you all again for coming at such short notice, it's been about three weeks since the attack on the Southern Isles and Trelan has taken four of their people in as refugees- for lack of a better term. I figure it's best to hear the story from someone who was there..." Sean looked at Evelien and she slowly stood, dropping her napkin on the table as she did so. Sean gave her a reassuring look and she smiled softly at him before turning to the others.

"Good Evening." Evelien said softly, her hand pressing into the fabric on the table, "exactly three weeks ago my servant Brianna ran into my throne room yelling about a raid."

_The girl gripped Evelien as the king stood, making his way to the window he peered out. He looked at his wife in terror as the sounds of battle raised in the courtyard._

_"Evelien, get on Ghost— now! Brianna and Lydia, take her there." The Queen said, grabbing the girls' arms and pushing them towards the door. Evelien grabbed Brianna's arm and Lydia rushed next to the king. Evelien threw her arms up and made a bubble around them. The group ran quickly and when they mounted Evelien on top of her horse, she froze when she realized they weren't coming either her._

_"W-wait! What am I supposed to do?" Evelien shouted, clearly panicked._

_"Get on your horse, go to the Mcloughlin's in Trelan. If they learned anything from their mother they'll let you in— go now!" The queen hit the horse and it reared up, forcing Evelien to focus on controlling the_ _ animal_ _. As the doors to the throne room were burst in, a male pointed his sword at the king and shrieked in a cracking tone. _ _His skin was pale like snow and his eyes were blacked than the ink she had used in school. The scream caused_ _ Ghost to panic a_ _nd _ _he turned and ran out of the kingdom and away from the threat. Turning back to look at the kingdom all the could see was her mother sending up a shield and all she could hear was Brianna screaming in horror._

Evelien looked up from where she was standing and felt everyone's eyes in her tear-filled eyes which caused her to quickly drop her head back down. Sean squeezed her wrist lightly, his thumb rubbing the white ribbon she had tied in it. He gave her a gentle smile and let her sit back down.

"So after those events.." Sean paused then took a breath, "we've had one possession, Mark you brought me three people and Felix you had two you brought as well?"

Both of the men nodded swiftly, glancing at each other.

"We'll have to send them to the jail to see if we can calm them down, the one from Trelan who acted out is currently under watch and is slowly relaxing. They seem to improve in some isolation if they can't reach someone to attack them they calm down." Sean looked around, "does anyone have anything they wish to say?"

"Uhm, we found some bodies resembling similar mutilation listed in the letter." Bryan's voice spoke up, Amelia next to him shifted back in her seat and nodded, "over them was a signature: Anti. We checked the population documents in the records last night, it must be a pseudonym. No one in the kingdom is registered under the name- or even alias, of Anti."

The table burst into mumbles and Sean glimpsed at Evelien who thought, she hadn't heard the name before and if it wasn't listed as the name of anyone in the records. Millions of people's names, heights, and crimes all listed in one area: the records knew everything about everyone. This person had to either be from off-Island, maybe from the mainland or had to be hiding their true face. Slowly the table quieted down but there was a bit of anxiety from the new information. Sean nodded to Chase who scribbled down a note on parchment.

"So he kills and possesses." Sean sat, now letting the table be equal. Eye to eye.

"Miss Evelien's Kingdom definitely was hit the worst of all of us," Jay spoke from where he was, his wife would usually be in attendance but she had just had a child so that was out of the picture for a bit while the baby grew.

"I think bringing all the people together may be a wise decision." Evelien spoke up softly, looking up at the table, "if we have everyone in one area it will be easy to track their progress."

The table mumbled agreements and Marvin smiled at her encouragingly. Making Evelien sit a bit straighter. She was never good with these sort of things, talking was a weak suit of hers. But with some encouragement, she'd be fine.

"We had a possessed person and arrested them for attacking a minor. After about three days they completely calmed in solitary, they didn't remember anything that had happened. I'm wondering how that works?" Amy asked.

"Possibly mind control?" Someone spoke, then the table burst into noise, causing Evelien to slink back into her chair. Marvin stood and slammed his hand down harshly on the table and everyone slowly quieted down.

"He shocks you first." Marvin said, lifting his sleeve to show a burn scar, "it's pain in your whole body if you're lucky your heart won't stop. Then if it knocks you down hard enough he tries to get in your head. Anti couldn't break through mine, but who knows for others who aren't experienced with Dark magicks like I am."

Marvin sat and Chase scribbled down more notes from the last minutes of conversation. The table discussed some other things, old laws that needed to be redone and money problems in smaller kingdoms. After about a three and a half-hour meeting, it was adjourned for the night. Evelien guided some families to their rooms and talked to some others. Making her way to her room Amy called her name, making her turn.

"We're gonna go on a quick walk before we go sleep. Would you like to join?" Amy stood next to another woman, Marzia. Felix's wife. Evelien smiled.

"Of course! The gardens are gorgeous at night. I walk amount them often." Evelien made her way over to the girls and the three made their way to the garden. She took a breath and prepared her introverted self for conversation. She'd have to get used to talking a lot, and she had known Amy and Marzia for a while. Amy, she knew from childhood, but she met Marzia when she moved to the island.

"So," Marzia said once they had gotten deep into the garden, "how is it living here?"

A group of girls ran past, playing a game with sword and steamers. Their mother following behind slowly and giving a bow to the princesses and the queen who returned it.

"It has been nice, as you can see, everyone here is hospitable. Very welcoming. They are always smiling at me, though some think I've come to court Sean. I've been called Queen Mcloughlin a few times." Evelien spoke softly, stopping in front of another fountain similar to the one in the town center, she smiled and laid her fingers on the delicately laid tile.

"How has Sean been?" Marzia asked

"Amazing actually." Evelien said, then she stuttered a bit before starting, "he's been nothing but proper and polite. He is very very sweet too."

Marzia smiled at Amy who giggled.

"Hey!" Evelien turned to the two who laughed softly.

"Has he been flirting? Look at those rosy cheeks! That loving smile!" Marzia squealed, grabbing Evelien and spinning her around. Amy laughed softly and sat on the edge of the fountain.

"I've been too! It's, hopefully, not one-sided." Evelien giggled, smiling wide. Marzia began to babble about Felix and how he was so timid when the first met. As the night got lighter, Amy and Marzia went up in the castle. But Evelien took a turn and made her way to the infirmary. Quietly slipping into Charles's room she saw the boy sitting up.

"Good evening Charles, no need for a formal introduction." Evelien made her way over and he sat up with tears in his eyes.

"Evelien— Miss. I have no momma, please I am tired and sick. Just go while I am still here. I don't want you to see me die." Charlie's whimpered.

"You aren't going to die, Henrik is an amazing Doctor. You're scared, here." Evelien made a motion for him to sit up. He did slowly and Evelien sat with her back against the bed frame. She laid Charles in her lap and ran her fingers through his short hair.

"Can you sing me a lullaby..?" He whispered and Evelien smiled, softly beginning to sing a song her mother used to sing along to when she was a little kid. A song about knights armor and tower bells. Princesses dancing and love in the world. Charles smiled softly and curled into the blankets and closed his eyes. Quietly singing the song in the dark infirmary, the soft shuffle of feet and whispering in the background Evelien couldn't help as her eyelids dropped and she slowly fell asleep herself.


	13. chapter twelve.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The royals leave, there's a surprise meeting, a crown falls.

Henrik woke Evelien around 5 am and snuck her back into her room before the sun basked anything in the familiar warm golden glow. Charles had been much calmer around Evelien, according to the doctor. Henrik planned to have Evelien come in more. Breakfast was huge and happy, with large plates covered in delicious smelling food. Breakfast was done quickly and before Evelien could even process she had linked arms with Marzia, being guided over to where Amy stood with Mark and Sean. Mark and Sean joked and laughed as Felix, and a few other men Evelien couldn't remember the names of, joined in.

"Our carriage is almost ready," Amy said softly, gently pulling Evelien and Marzia away from the boys to a shady spot against the doors of the castle.

"I'll have to write letters and keep you updated-"

"Yes please!" Both girls said and Evelien laughed.

"I love how you guys are life coaching me." Evelien made her way to hug the two tightly.

"Are you gonna go back home or stay here?" Marzia asked as they released, nodding to the carriages that were pulling up. Evelien smiled.

"Trelan feels more like home than The Southern Isles did.." she laughed, "Sure, Life is wild here, but I'm not being forced to rule or work or anything! I like it here, plus I can't live in that burned, destroyed castle. It could collapse at any second."

"I'm glad you like it here." Amy said, "if Sean ever causes problems, let us know. He's close with Felix and Mark, I'm sure they could pop his head back into the right ideas."

"Will do, ladies. Thank you." Evelien smiled, seeing Jameson pass behind her and grab Sean's arm. The two quickly made their way to the gate. Evelien gave Marzia and Amy goodbye hugs and waved goodbye to the others as everyone climbed into their carriages. Walking to where Sean stood, she watched every cart roll out slowly. Jameson attempted to pull down the gate and grunted slightly, then slapped the gate to draw attention to himself.

'It won't budge, we're going to need some water to loosen it up. Sean, try to help me get it first. Chase, anyone else, you can help too.' The slide read, sure enough, a good group of people made their way over and pushed and pulled on the gate. Sean took a few steps outside the gate to see what was going on and Evelien felt a chill trickle up her spine and a soft whisper in her ears.

_"Kill the king."_

"Sean!" She turned and shrieked as a barreling object slammed him into the ground. Sean was quick to lift up his legs and shoot the person off of him, drawing his sword as he stood. Evelien charged some magic and turned, seeing shadows racing across buildings and children shrieking in fear.

"He's attacking!" Henrik shouted, pulling out a sword. As Evelien turned she charged towards Sean, lifting her arms up she made a shield in front of herself and slammed the person back. She looked up to see Jackie and felt her stomach drop and twist. She raised a shield around Sean and focused on pushing Jackie back from the gate. Soon, there were more people nearing Evelien. She whipped her head from side to side as she raised barriers all around herself and slowly pushed out, but as her arms were hit and bruised she shrunk in on herself and felt her power draining.

Jackie had gotten shoved out of the group and smiled at Sean who held his sword tight in his hands.

"Jackie, snap out of this!" Sean held a defensive stance and blocked two hits, even though he knew Jackie's weak side he didn't try to attack him.

"You're weaker than I remember." The elder brother hit Sean's sword out of his hands and went to hit Sean when his eyes rolled back and he screamed in agony. Sean took this chance to kick Jackie's stomach and run to his sword when he looked up Jackie was gone. Turning Sean slammed his elbow into the jaw of someone attacking him, knocking them down.

The fight overall would last only a few more minutes, the weak puppets falling after only a few hits. Townspeople weren't fighting to kill, and before Sean even realized the fight was over. He ordered Chase to send letters out to the other kingdoms describing the attack, Henrik was quick to grab his nurses and begin tending to the wounded, Jameson went to check the supplies with a few stable boys, and Sean found himself wandering around the area slowly. He felt like something was missing, as his hands shook from the adrenaline he slipped his sword in its holder and as his eyes glanced at the hilt he froze and turned back towards the entrance. The small white ribbon reminded him, where was Evelien? She had helped him, he needed to make sure she was okay. Where the hell was she?

"Henrik. Have you seen Evelien?" Sean glanced around and the doctor shook his head.

"Jameson's gonna do a headcount once we see if we have any casualties. Sean, go inside the castle and get cleaned up. You're going to need to make a speech." Henrik glanced back at Sean who nodded, absentmindedly running his thumb along the white ribbon. Henrik stood from the boy he had finished healing and grabbed Sean's shoulder, "she'll be okay Sean. Evelien's tougher than you think she is."

"The crown!" Someone screamed and instinctively Sean tapped his head. It was still there, held in by clips.

"Oh, lord..." Henrik murmured, his eyes staring forwards. Sean turned and walked towards the crowd when Jameson popped out and ran towards Sean, stopping he shook a crown in his face. Sean grabbed it gently and felt his breath hitch. It was a small silver crown with a purple gem in the center.

"That's Evelien's," Sean mumbled. Jameson grabbed his arm and guided him inside the castle, Chase waited in the throne room. Turning he ran down to where Sean was and began complaining about the mess.

"You're worried about my outfit, Chase? That's what you're worried about? People have gone missing! Evelien's gone, tons of missing people just attacked us while possessed! This is the problem! Not the dirt on my jacket!" Sean snapped, then took a breath, "sorry."

"Look, it's okay. I get you're nervous but we can't let emotions take control- Sean." Chase looked around Sean who stared down at the crown in his hands.

"What if he kills her." Sean looked up.

"If he's smart he won't." Chase squeezed the king's shoulder, "let's prepare a little speech. When you came in Jameson said the stable boys were almost done with counting everyone who was at the fight."

Sean slipped the crown on his desk as they passed by his room to the big balcony on the front of the castle. He looked down at the people all clumped in the center and he sighed.

"My kingdom." His voice boomed, the chatter slowly receding and the people looking up, "after what has happened I know you are all probably scared, if I'm honest I'm not completely confident myself, but we are stronger than these people. Please listen to all higher-ups, tonight will be a lock-in and a census count. We need to see who of our own may have gone missing and who is safe and secure. Tomorrow, I want groups of ten to gather at noon by the fountain. We have to send people out to look for and capture alive, those who were possessed. Able-bodied people, please go and take anyone who is over fifteen. Men and women and those in between, it is time for us to fight back. If we receive any more information before sundown, I will call another meeting. If not, please stay in your homes tonight and please listen to the advisors. Thank you."

Turning with a nod, Sean slipped into his room. It wasn't his best speech but it didn't go horribly. Chase set him on his bed and left the room, leaving the king to think for a while.

Sundown hit faster than Sean expected it to. So far no one had passed away. Chase had told Sean to stay in his room so he allowed himself time to write a letter to Mark and Felix. He also wrote to his sisters and brothers who were unable to make the meeting due to being too far to travel or due to living off-island. He told them everything and when he sealed the final letter, the sun had already set. He grabbed the letters and slipped them in the mailbox outside the castle before walking over to Henrik who stood at the gate.

"Henrik! Hen—" Marvin grabbed the doctor's arm who steadied him, Sean grabbed his other arm and watched his face.

"Evelien... he has her.. castle—" Marvin's head dropped and his eyes rolled back. Sean cursed under his breath.


	14. chapter thirteen.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelien experiences some pain, Jackie panics, Chase tries to be sensible for once.

Jackie grabbed Evelien's hair and tugged downwards while kicking the backs of her knees, forcing her down. Her knees slammed against the cold burnt marble of her throne room, her head stuck at an awkward angle, staring up at Jackie who towered over her. Letting go of her hair his hand gently slid across her jaw and Eveline flinched away.

"Oh sweet Evelien, It will certainly be joyous to see how far I can push you until you break." Jackie smiled, his green eyes seeming to glow.

"You aren't gonna get away with this Anti." Eveline swallowed the blood in her mouth then looked up.

"Hah! You're smart, aren't ya?" He kicked her side and she fell over, looking at Marvin, Anti barred his fangs inside Jackie's lips, "Anti is a code name, it's not my own. I'm sure you'll find that one out once your king comes to save you, how _sweet_. Tie her up, I'll deal with her once I dump this vessel back home. Go!"

Anti snapped and walked off, Marvin nodded and lifted Eveline up by her shoulders before taking her to her own throne. Her own throne, in her burned castle? Anti was just mocking her now. Marvin sat her down and started tying her ankles together. His eyes that had previously been glazed over suddenly showed life, he kept tying her but he slowly seemed to be pulled away from Anti's possession.

"Evelien. I am so sorry, god damn. Okay, I'm gonna go get Sean and Jackie. I'm gonna get you some help. But you need to stay here, it's too dangerous for the two of us." He said, tipping his mask up off his face to make complete eye contact with Evelien. The scars there not even phasing the woman, who just sighed guiltily.

"But what if he comes back and hurts me or what if he finds you?" Evelien whispered, shifting her hands as Marvin tied them loosely, "my magic is drained, I can't defend myself!"

"I won't let him, okay? I've gotta go, I'll be back I promise. Please just try to stay alive, if you have a moment to break free you need to. He isn't going to kill you, He's using you as bait and I need Sean to know that before he gets here." Marvin kissed Evelien's forehead in good luck, slipped down his mask, and ran off. Evelien shifted uncomfortably in the restraints but was content knowing they could be harsher.

Harsher the restraints would be when Anti returned and saw only one of his catches. Evelien was stuck in her chair, she couldn't run away and with no magic, she was basically a target practice to the monster in front of her.

"Oh, princess." Anti cupped her jaw with his left hand, in his right the knife gently traced her jaw. She whimpered softly, fear running through her veins. Her adrenaline was long gone. Her sides burned like they were on fire, her arms scratched up beyond recognition. He had hit her nose hard enough it hadn't stopped bleeding yet, and she was afraid she'd bleed out at this rate.

"Where did Marvin go?" He asked again, the knife held to her shoulder, Evelien whimpered.

"Where is he!" Anti shouted, digging a bit of the blade into her shoulder.

"I don't know! He left but I don't know where he went!" Evelien screamed and Anti smacked her head hard enough for her other cheek to slam against the chair. He grabbed her by the throat and turned her jaw with his thumb so she was looking at him.

"You do know. I'm going to get out of you anyway if I can." Anti pressed the edge of a blade against Evelien's jaw and she took a sharp breath. Suddenly spitting in his face and jerking away from his touch. Unluckily for her, Anti was quick to pin her down by her shoulders. He held her tightly and frowned down at her,

"That was a bad idea, Princess..."

—

Jackie jerked up and shouted something incomprehensible which caused Henrik to jump and nearly spill the medicine he was making.

"What?" Henrik turned, standing up.

"Evelien, Evelien. That— monster. She's in the Southern Isles, oh my lord. Oh my, we need to help her!" Jackie tried to stand but was pushed down by Henrik.

"Jamie!" Henrik shouted towards the door as the stableboy was walking by, "Jamie! Go get Sean and Chase, please— Jackie! Stop trying to stand up!"

Jameson rushed out of the hospital. Marvin stood, using a wooden cane, and grabbed Jackie's chest and held him down to the bed. Jackie writhed and blabbered about how Anti was gonna hurt Evelien and how they needed to go help her now. Sean and Chase stumbled into the infirmary, grabbing onto each other for balance.

"What? What's happening?!" Sean shouted and Jackie reached for his brother who grabbed his hand.

"Anti has her, Southern Isles." Marvin said, "I got away from his possession. She was fine when I left but if he's back who knows what's happening."

Jackie nodded and sighed, "I'm sorry for everything I've done Sean. You have to let me help."

"_No_." Sean let his grip on Jackie's hand slack, "you're unstable. Still showing signs of possession like Marvin. I don't trust you right now. Henrik, Chase, Jameson. We're going to pay a visit to the Southern Isles."

"Sean no. You can't go off this soon." Marvin tried but Sean shook his head.

"The less damaged she is the better." Sean snapped at the magician who sat back down on his bed, "Groups are gathering in the town center. There's plenty of people there who are willing to help."

"Let's just hurry," Chase said, grabbing Sean's arm and pulling him out of the room. He knew that the longer Sean stayed in there the more he would argue, and Sean needed to be as level headed as possible for this.

"Sean, I need you to think this all through before we go," Chase said, looking back at the king. Henrik and Jameson followed behind them as they went to the stables.

"I will be I promise but we have to act fast. I'm just worried about what will happen to her. We know where she is so we need to find her— soon!" Sean grabbed the reigns of his horse. Chase grabbed his arms.

"You're not." Chase held him firmly, "breathe, go slow, mind over matter. We need to be stealthy and smart."

"Yeah..." Sean took a breath as Jameson and Henrik saddled up on their horses, "I'm just.."

"You're worried about her safety Sean. You care about her, that's why." Chase said softly, "I see it in your eyes, the way you talk and worry. You really care. But for now, you need to push the emotion down. It's life or death now. If you are too emotional people will die. Be wise Sean."

Chase saddled on his horse and Sean followed suit. After everyone was ready to ride, they left out of the side gate and down the back paths through the woods. All Sean could hope for was safety for Evelien and anyone else involved.


	15. chapter fourteen.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelien's found, Anti's cryptic, Sean has an odd nickname brought up.

When the gate opened, Sean and his group was the first group out. Other people rode out on horses and the sound of neighing and talking was loud. People were traveling to every corner of the island to spread the news and details of the new attacks somewhere leaving for their family in other kingdoms, some were leaving to send letters, some were going to find the possessed. Half of the kingdom was leaving though not many would be gone permanently. No one dared to follow Sean, he was on a mission and the older residents knew to not bother him when it was a time like this, soft whispers spread overnight let him know that the people were talking. He had acted the same way when his family was suffering, which clearly showed that Evelien meant a lot to him.

The path they followed was lined with lanterns that flickered slowly as the wind blew the candles nearly out. Whoever had been lighting these candles everyday must've forgotten to change them down here as the wicks were almost worn. Well, no one was living in the Southern Isles anymore so it makes sense that they were like that. Sean guided the group slowly in the broken walls of the kingdom, sliding off his horse he tied the reigns to a seemingly sturdy post and motioned for Henrik, Chase, and Jameson to do the same. The castle was the same as when they had left.

The four walked slowly towards the castle and Sean pulled his sword out of its sheath. He pushed against the door twice and though it pushed forwards a bit, it refused to open completely.

"Here, I've got it. Henrik, help me bust it open." Chase lined up with the door and Henrik followed suit. The two counted down and body-slammed it open, causing the door to fly back and smack the wall with a loud cracking noise.

Sean stepped into the room, Chase and Henrik staying beside him, Jameson lining up behind Sean. The three drew their swords and held them in a defensive stance.

"Anti!" Sean shouted, drawing his sword and lifting it up. Nodding for Chase and Henrik to line up with Jameson. The two followed and dropped back slowly, looking around for any signs of Anti. The throne Evelien most likely used was the only one standing, the other two knocked down and broken. The sign of life that alerted Sean was frail arms tied uncomfortably around the back of the chair.

"Evelien?" He stepped forwards and Chase jutted his arm forwards and grabbed Sean's arm as the throne was turned slowly, Evelien's head dropped low so they couldn't see her face.

"Took you longer than I thought.." Anti smirked, stepping out from behind the throne. He had his own sword resting in his hand, smiling widely.

"Let her go Anti." Sean lifted his sword, unable to see Evelien as Anti stood in front of her.

"I've had my fun with her anyways." Anti turned and grabbed Evelien's arm. A small tear and she was thrown sideways. She fell like a ragdoll and groaned at Sean's feet where her body rested after the fall. Jameson was quick to grab her and pull her behind the group. There was a pause in Sean's movements, his hand suddenly hyper-aware of the ribbon on the hilt of his sword matching the one tied around Evelien's wrist, next to the burn from the ropes.

"Why would you do this, you already tore her whole kingdom away?" Sean's voice was steady and loud, seemingly void of any emotions.

"She was the bait, Sean. I thought you were smart enough to know that. I used her kingdom to gather 'puppets' to spread my power. I didn't plan for her to escape." Anti rolled his eyes and drew his own sword but kept his arm at his hip, "This is a warning, Sean. You will fall to me."

"I will never fall to someone as horrid as yourself." Sean nearly growled.

"You will be surprised, clover." Anti pointed his sword towards Sean, causing Henrik and Chase to both raise their own swords. Sean stayed still, his eyes wide and blank as he stared at Anti's face.

"You're sick," Sean said softly, dropping his sword and Anti sheathed his.

"It's so unfair, three to one. I'll see you later then, Sean." Anti smiled and in a cracked form, disappeared. Chase and Henrik slowly relaxed, Jameson came back into the room and looked around confused.

"Okay." Sean turned around, "how's she look?"

'Not bad actually, a few cuts and scrapes. Her arms seem to be the worst but I'm not a doctor.' Jameson replied with a shrug.

"Sean, you okay?" Henrik asked, grabbing his arm. Sean nodded slightly,

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sean shook his hand off his arm.

"You're not okay, Sean," Chase started but with a glare from Sean, he quieted himself.

"Let's get her back to the infirmary, okay? We can talk then." Sean turned sharply and walked out, Evelien was propped against the wall outside. He kneeled down in front of her and pushed her hair back out of her face, she was still too weak to be awake. Sean grabbed her wrist and rubbed the ribbon to show that he was there and he wanted her to be okay. That might not have been translated across to her but he hoped it was. At least a bit.

Sean got up on his horse and Henrik and Chase passed Evelien up so he could hold onto her. Setting her legs across the horse how she'd ride it and leaning her back enough so she wouldn't fall. He let everyone in front of him and they cantered at a decent speed back. Sean kept one arm around her waist, attempting to balance her as best he could.

Anti had called him Clover. He couldn't shake that out of his head. He called him Clover. Clover! How would he have known that nickname? Angus called him that. But Angus was dead as far as Sean knew. There was no way that he was that demonic beast, right? He prayed that he was right. 


	16. chapter fifteen.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charles has magic, Evelien has bad memories.

It has been the most boring week of Evelien's life. Besides her training sessions growing up. She was so damn bored. Sean's head rested on her shoulder, his crown in her lap as he slept close to her. He had barely left her side in the past week where they had been sitting in the infirmary. Henrik told her it would take only a week for her to heal completely and she was hoping that the doctor would come in soon so that she could finally get out of here. Evelien read the letters she was writing to Marzia and Amy about being captured, neat swirls of cursive covered the pages she set aside to dry completely before folding them to be sent off. The first night Sean had his advisors come in and he told them what had happened before Evelien had awoken, they had told him to write letters to each kingdom about the capture so that everyone knew. Evelien hated how the one advisor made it seem she was weak. She wasn't weak at all, the bonds were too tight and her hands were numb. She had no way of fighting back with completely drained magic. She had used so much her arms had broken. Sean told them he'd write the letters himself so they had been writing all week, the same letters to different people, it was exhausting but it was what they had to do.

"Evelien?" Henrik's voice was soft from the doorway. She smiled and waved him in, gently pushing Sean off her shoulder and moving over. Henrik smiled and Charles came in wheeling a small cart that Henrik was secretly guiding with his hand.

"Stop here Charles, thank you." Henrik smiled and Evelien returned the look.

"It's great to see you walking Charles! You look so much healthier." Evelien gave him a high-five as he climbed up onto the bed.

"I feel better! Mister Henrik said I should be back to normal working order soon. I can start helping out here more!" Charles smiled widely, kicking his legs back and forth off the edge of the bed.

"I'm glad to hear that." Evelien smiled as Henrik healed her arms, causing her to hiss softly. Charles shifted closer and Sean yawned from behind her. Henrik waited a few more seconds before pulling away, causing Evelien and Henrik to both sighed and breathed quietly for a few seconds to recover from the pain.

"You should be good to go back to the castle tonight, Evelien," Henrik said. Grabbing the cart, "Charles you can stay here, or you can come with me. I'm just doing the normal rounds."

"I'll stay here until you come back!" Charles hugged Evelien's side and he nodded.

"I'll be back in a few hours then." Henrik continued walking with the cart. Pushing herself back up against the wall, Charles stayed close to her side and cuddled into her side.

"Now, Charles. How has your day been?" Evelien asked.

"It was awesome! I've been seeing all this medical stuff and Marvin is helping me unlock my magic. He thinks I have some magic in the medical or the farming aspects. Henrik is showing me magic medicine and also traditional, I'm learning a lot." Charles gushed.

"That's great Charles! I had no idea Marvin was a Seer, I hope he can help you find your magic soon. I found mine when I was about the same age, I can summon shields to help defend people." Evelien held a hand up to show a small cracking shield, "though I'm a bit worn down."

"Maybe I can have cool new powers!" Charles flicked his fingers and though little light flashes happened, it wasn't too powerful.

"That's so cool dude!" Evelien smiled, letting Charles cuddle into her side.

"Can you sing the lullaby again?" Charles yawned, obviously faking his sleepiness, "using magic made me tired."

Evelien couldn't help but agree, pulling Charles into her lap and running her hands through his short brown hair. She began to sing the lullaby and kept her voice soft enough to lull Charles to sleep. When she finished singing the long lullaby she peered up at Sean who had a small smile.

"You sure you don't also have a singing charm? Your voice is beautiful." Sean commented.

"It only sounds nice when I sing soft, otherwise I sound like a screaming baby." Evelien laughed and Sean chuckled along.

"You're acting like a mother, cuddling him, running your fingers through his hair, singing lullabies... that's stuff my mom did." Sean gently tucked some of her hair out of her face and watched her cheeks redden.

"I'm not even dating someone, I cannot be a mother." Evelien's reply was soft, "Charles needs someone to be a mother for him and I'll do that for him for now."

"I'm sure your relationship status will change soon," Sean said softly, looking down at the ribbon on her wrist. Evelien smiled and let her hair cover her reddening cheeks.

"And you do a great job with Charles, Ev." Sean leaned back on the bed.

"Thanks, Sean." Evelien bit her lip with a happy smile as she played with the ribbon. The one from her first full day in the castle, one that had been in her hair, now double wrapped around her wrist. Sean had a similar looking one tied around his sword hilt— that Evelien had noticed when Henrik moved it off the bed.

"Evelien, I can carry Charles back to his room and Sean can help you back to the castle now?" Henrik leaned on the doorframe, "I forgot i had extra help in today so I only had a half-hour of rounds to do."

"Yeah, thank you, Henrik." Evelien nodded. Henrik carefully lifted Charles's small body up off the bed. Evelien moved off the bed and slowly stood on shaky legs, Sean beside her almost instantly. The letters he folded and put in Evelien's bag, draping it across her shoulders. She was lucky Anti hadn't stolen anything out of it.

"You ready to go?" Sean asked and Evelien nodded, shifting her feet in her shoes.

"Just try to make it seem like I'm not heavily injured." Evelien sighed, watching as Sean wrapped his arm around Evelien and held her up by her waist.

"Now it looks like I'm going to court you," Sean said with a laugh which made Evelien laugh too. They made their way out into the cold night, making Evelien thankful for Sean's arm around her waist. There weren't many people out late into the night ever since the attack, people were building up ruins and caring for the injured so it wasn't much for her to worry about. As they made it into the Castle, Sean saw how she was struggling and slowed to a stop.

"Here," he held out his hands for Evelien's waist and when she turned towards him he quickly lifted her up and held her in his arms. Evelien began to laugh, it echoed around the empty throne room and mixed with Sean's own laughter. Their chance of getting to her room quietly had just failed. Sean carried her up the stairs and into her room and when setting her down he flipped over and laid on the bed.

"Tired?" Evelien asked, "I'm not even at my normal weight, I've barely eaten the past week."

"Stairs are tiring by themselves." He complained into the blankets, Making Evelien laugh and lay down slowly, "we'll have to see how you feel tomorrow morning so I can get you some food."

"Sounds good to me," Evelien yawned.

"I'll leave you to get rest then, Princess." Sean smiled softly, squeezing her hand as he stood.

"Y-yeah." Evelien attempted you stifle a yawn, "I'll see you in the morning."

Sean stepped out and Evelien stood, yanking her sleeves up to show her scarred arms. Anti had done minimal damage to her, it was her magic that had caused this. She sighed and laid down, the word Princess echoing in her head.

Every time she shut her eyes she could see him, every time BB made a noise she thought it was Anti, every time her blankets tugged on her she felt hands grabbing her, every sharp pain was a stab, every whisper was Anti. Sean's voice echoed so much his voice changed to Anti's. Anti had said Princess, Sean said princess. Now she was paranoid.

She couldn't sleep.


	17. chapter sixteen.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a new spot in the garden, Anti's magic is hidden within someone.

Evelien hadn't slept all week, except maybe hour-long nightmares. She was tired of being tired. Tired of not sleeping. She laid in bed as the sun pierced her eyes but didn't move. She was too tired to.

"Ev?" Four knocks, it was Sean.

"Come in." Evelien sat herself up and yawned, BB rushing to the door when he saw Sean step in. Sean shut the door and kneeled down to pet that cat, saying a soft hello to the feline.

"You've been walking very little the past couple of weeks. How many... three!" Sean's eyes lit up as he talked, sitting by the foot of the bed, "I know I haven't been by much, the advisors have me bumping up on all my training. I took my tests yesterday so I'm free for the next few days as my evaluations come in."

"How did you think you did? And what does this mean? Do you finally get to be like a full king now or something?" Evelien smiled at him softly and Sean nodded.

"I think I did good! It means that I get to be 'recrowned' which basically means that I'm fully a king and take all responsibilities. Chase is still my main advisor but all of my old advisors get to move out and torture another poor soul." Sean chuckled, "it'll probably happen at the next summer solstice."

"I'm so proud of you!" Evelien giggled and gave him a side hug before she stood up, "let me get dressed, we can talk a walk."

"Sure! I'll meet you down in the throne room." Sean made his way out of the room and Evelien was quick to pull on one of the dresses she hadn't worn. It was a bit baggy around her shoulders but with a quick tug on the strings, she was tied in. She could see some pants nearby she could wear but she decided to get her dresses washed and while it was being washed she could wear the pants. Making her way down the stairs she yawned and tried to stifle it by keeping her mouth shut. Sean reaches out for her hand and she grabbed it a bit sloppily, giving him a half-smile as their fingers intertwined and locked together.

"I have a little spot in the garden I wanna show you." Sean guided Evelien through the side door of the castle, a route they hadn't taken before, to a remote back corner of the garden and through another gate to a small grove up against the castle walls. Filled with thick bushes to hide the little area, inside there was a small pond with fish and some flower bushes. A bee nest was in the far corner, luckily, and there were a few birdhouses quiet peeping was heard from. Evelien sat down in a swing and Sean followed her lead, watching her yawn softly and attempt to stifle it with her hand.

"How much have you been sleeping?" Sean asked, wrapping his arm around her.

"Not much." Evelien shrugged. Sean could tell easily. She was slowly moving, her eyes were staring aimlessly, the bags under her eyes were the biggest giveaway.

"Why not Ev?" Sean pulled her to his side and let her rest on his shoulder. She laid her arm across his stomach and curled into his side.

"Nightmares I guess." Evelien shrugged, "every time I close my eyes I just see everything he did again and it's sickening."

"Do you want to take a nap here, where you know you're safe?" Sean looked down at her, she had her eyes already closed and was nodding as she slumped against him. Sean slid over a bit to let her lay down a bit more comfortably and rested his head on top of hers. A small nap wouldn't hurt him, would it?

-

"Wake up, lovers." Marvin's silky voice made Evelien's eyes slowly blink open as she groaned. Sean shifted as she sat up and stretched.

"How long were we out?" Evelien muttered, wiping her face and yawning. Sean looked up squinting and sighed.

"It's in the afternoon now. So at least five or six hours." Sean shifted to a sitting position and Evelien moved away from him. Then stopped.

"Marvin! We aren't lovers." Evelien snapped, blushing. Sean chuckled lowly and Marvin smiled slyly.

"I was walking around, stretching out because this seer can't get a break, and I stumbled upon you two cuddled up on this swing Sean's mother built in her garden. I mean, that's something." Marvin shrugged. Sean's face turned bright red, ducking his head and coughing. Evelien looked and Marvin and winked, causing Marvin to laugh.

"Anyways, Sean, you need to drink this again."  
Marvin waved a potion in front of him and Sean groaned and snatched it from midair.

"Careful, you know it's dangerous to shake it." Marvin sighed.

"What is that?" Evelien asked, Marvin, turned and smiled.

"Well, it's a potion of good health. Something to keep Anti away. I've been having Sean drink these just to make sure nothing happens to him. I can't control if Anti or his magic makes direct contact, but it will push out any of Antis magic that's in his body." Marvin explained calmly, shrugging his shoulders. Evelien nodded.

"I'd make you a potion but it's really expensive and I'm not sure how it would affect you if you have already been possessed by Anti. You've come into direct contact which is close enough." Marvin sighed.

"There." Sean coughed, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"How do you feel?" Marvin barely moved before Sean doubles over in pain. Groaning. Evelien touched his back and he flinched away from her touch.

"Antis magic is nearby." Marvin said, touching Sean's arm, "it's okay Sean, I've cleared his energy from me."

Sean let Marvin sit him up, his face was pale and distorted in some pain. Evelien moved closer to see and he seemed to be in more pain. Evelien made eye contact with Marvin and stood, slowly backing away from the two. Sean's pain decreased.

"It's me." Evelien whispered, "I'm hurting him."

"It's not you, it's Antis magic within you." Marvin tried to explain. Evelien grabbed her skirt and pulled it up, rushing away.

"Evelien wait!" Sean called, she didn't listen. She ran back through the back doors of the castle and brushed past Chase and she went up the stairs. Sean and Marvin burst in the door only seconds after and Chase stopped them by stepping in front of them.

"What the hell is going on?" Chase demanded, holding his hands on their chests.

"I had Sean drink the potion and then he had the reaction that he has to Anti's magic and we found it was radiating off of Evelien. After she noticed she ran off! Please let me talk—" Marvin started but Chase slapped his arm rough enough to make Marvin scowl.

"Take Sean to his room, you're supposed to do it in his room with no magic nearby you dumbass!" Chase snapped, "leave him there and go home, make a new potion and do it again because the potion might trap Anti's magic inside of him. I will talk to Evelien. Go!"

Marvin held Sean's hand and rushed up the stairs, Chase followed behind them but at a much slower pace. watching them turn he walked to Evelien's room and knocked.

"Miss Evelien? It's Chase." He leaned his head on the door.

"Go away," Evelien whispered.

"Just know that this isn't your fault, Marvin's gonna come by with some magic stuff to get Anti's magic out of you. Don't worry, Sean isn't mad." Chase stayed quiet and when there was no response he sighed.

"I'll leave you for now. I'll be back with dinner." And he left. Evelien needed space and room to breathe. She'd be okay, he was certain.


	18. chapter seventeen.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anti's back, Evelien has a vision.

Evelien laid in the middle of her bed and ran her hands through her hair. Now that she was thinking clearly, her running away was a bit childish but she couldn't shake the feeling of being like Anti. Hurting someone for no reason. She groaned out loud slid in the bed. Covering herself in the thick covers up to her chin, she sighed, BB hopped up and head-butted her while purring, causing her to laugh softly and pull him to her chest. The sun was going down, she thought as she let her eyes shut, deciding Chase would wake her up for food since she was eating more than usual after barely eating for her week in the hospital.

Instead of waking to Chase pushing her shoulder lightly, Evelien awoke to a glass shattering and yelling down the hall. She slowly sat up and grabbed the candle on the bedside table, she must've forgotten to blow it out. Leaving BB on the bed she made her way out into the hall, no one was there but the yelling was still loud. She made her way to the edge, by two sets double doors. She listened to one and heard nothing, leaning to another she paused. Whatever it was, it was in there. She took a few steps back and saw shadows rushing up the halls, but heard no one approaching. As they slipped past her, the yelling seemed to echo more and more. Finally, Evelien had enough and knocked on the door. It fell silent.

"I don't mean to intrude but is everything alright?" Evelien saw Chase open his door from down the hall, his kids heads poking out behind him before he ushered them into another room. Jackie was there to let them in and Evelien could see a majority of the staff behind him. Her stomach lurched in dread. Something was _wrong_.

"Evelien!" Chase hissed, "get over here!"

"But.." Evelien stammered, she couldn't pull herself away from the door. She glanced at Chase who waved her on and she took a few steps back. The doors slammed open and Jackie slammed his door shut. Evelien yelped in surprise and backed herself against the wall.

"Evelien!" Chase shouted, fear evident in his voice. Evelien began to run towards Chase but shadows stopped her path, pushing her down. She stood and looked back at Sean, who wasn't really Sean. It was easy to tell, his neck was bleeding from a wound and his eyes were bright green.

"Leave me alone! I already played your game Anti!" Evelien shouted, feeling anxiety prickle across her skin.

"You've allowed me to do something extraordinary Poppet. You got my magic within Sean! I was able to possess him!" Anti's crackling voice came out of Sean's body, sending chills down her spine. Chase rammed up against the shadows, yelling something Evelien couldn't hear.

"I will never be your poppet." Evelien snapped, grabbing a sword that laid against the wall.

"What a shame. You don't have a choice." Anti appeared behind her and sliced her side, causing her to gasp and spun around. He wasn't there, now he was behind her again.

"Let's play a game, you get thirty seconds to run and hide. Starting now." Anti said and Evelien stumbled over her feet, tumbling to the ground. Tears pricked in her eyes, her hands fumbling to tear the corset off her body, **_five_**. The red blood seeping into the forest green dress causing her breaths to quicken sharply, her left hand pressing into the wound roughly as she attempted to stand on her shaking legs, **_ten_**. Grabbing the corset with her right hand that was also holding a sword she shifting her position so now she held the corset to the wound on her side as she limped through the castle halls, **_fifteen_**. She was slow, too slow, trying to knock the shadows back she swiped her sword up and down mercilessly, **_twenty_**. She groaned in aggravation and looked back at Anti who only cocked his head in a sinister grin, showing all his wicked teeth as he counted slowly.

** _Twenty-five..._ **

She had wasted all her time trying to get to Chase, she knew she was safe with him and of course, Anti would take her safety way! She groaned and continued down the halls as fast as she could.

"**_Thirty_**... You cannot run from me, my princess..." A high-pitched tone mingled with Sean's deeper voice, "I can feel your pulse through the floor."

Turning down a hall, Evelien found the stairs to the main room. Her bare feet slapping on the cold porcelain steps as she ran as fast as her injured body would allow. She knew the imposter was catching up to her based on how the throne room got darker and her anxiety raised. He was here, hidden in someone else's body. Taking him and making him a vessel for his sick twisted tricks. As she got to the last step of the stairs, making it to the throne room, Evelien was roughly slammed against the side of Sean's throne. The movement causing her to drop her corset and making her mouth open wide in a wail of agony,

"I found you, my princess." Anti's eyes were completely black now, unlike Sean's sky blue ones and Evelien felt herself wishing to see the morning sky in them one more time.

"Please! Just let Sean go," Evelien trembled, her grip on the sword tightening. Sean's hand, controlled by Anti curling tighter around her throat.

"What do I get out of it, hm?" Anti moved closer to Evelien and the woman swallowed fearfully.

_"If someone Sean truly cares is in immediate danger due to what is said in Anti's head, he might snap. Sean can see everything Anti does whilst in his body, Anti is like a symbiote. Sean can fight for control, which is why we see Anti convulse." Marvin said, his hand resting on a black leatherbound book open to a page, scribbled in an unused language. He smiled bleakly at Evelien, "don't give up."_

Seers could send visions! Thank the lord for Marvin. Now, if Evelien could get Sean to snap...

"Me," Evelien whispered, fear causing her arms to numb. She knew she had to get Sean to breakthrough somehow but Marvin hadn't told her how to get through to him. She couldn't feel her blood rush, she couldn't feel her grip on the sword yet she could feel the leather against her sweaty hand. Her neck felt hot, yet cold. Her body shook with fear as Anti got so close she was afraid of their lips touching, His head jolted sideways and his eyes flashed blue. He was breaking, he was actually starting to break! It was a relief that only lasted a second.

"Say that again, I couldn't hear..." Evelien knew Anti heard, but took a shaky breath and swallowed. Anti's grip snapped tighter as his arm glitched, his face contorting in pain.

"If you let Sean go, you can have me instead." Evelien's voice was still soft, and Anti reeled back and screamed in agony. His whole body shook and jolted in different directions as he began to scream. He screamed in various tones, all at once. Evelien held her sword towards his figure, her hands shaking so bad the sword was slipping from her grip. Anti screamed once more, the sound so loud the walls shook and Evelien dropped her sword to hold her hands to her ears. Once Anti dropped down to his knees and fell forward on his elbows all Evelien could hear was this faint ring and the blood rushing past her ears.

"Sean, Sean, please." She collapsed and crawled towards the king, the feeling in her arms slowly returning. She pulled him into her lap and pushed his hair out of his face.

"Someone, please! Someone help!" She cried, her hands tight around his arm and side as if he would disappear if she didn't hold him, his eyes were visible now as they faded from the pitch-black pits to the soft sky blue she yearned to view, "Anybody, please! He's hurt!"

Townspeople burst into the door, a few tumbling over, torches in hand. They must've burnt the door to weakening it then bashed it in. Chase and the group upstairs nearly fell down the stairs one after another and yelled various things. People gasped and slowly came over to Evelien and Sean, Henrik was there faster than Evelien had expected, shouting adding to the background noise as Sean twitched in her grasp and she cried out.

"Don't go like this, please. C'mon, you are so much stronger Sean." She whispered, feverishly brushing her fingers through his hair.

"Eve... I'm so sorry." Sean's words were slurred, clutching her dress and Evelien laughed almost in hysteria.

"No, don't be sorry! It's okay, I'm okay. You're alive. We'll be okay." Evelien looked up to see Henrik sit down in front of her and slowly take Sean out of her lap.

_It's okay. It's okay._


	19. chapter eighteen.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sean and Evelien talk.

It had been months since Sean had left the castle. He was rehabilitated back to health by now. Evelien had seen him almost every day, they talked about anything and everything. He had the most trouble getting back into his king duties, sword fighting had been the hardest to retrain. Everything else he fell back into, his habits, his laugh, his smiles, they all came back quickly.

"I have to do a proclamation, Evelien. They saw me near death, they saw us in the throne room." Sean sighed, scratching his chin. This had been another hard part, Sean couldn't let the past go sometimes.

"It's gonna be okay, I'm sure they're just worried about your safety." Evelien rubbed his back as he rested his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes.

"I'm just worried I messed up, I let him in the kingdom. In me, the king. He possessed me, what if no one trusts me?" Sean sighed, "I'm supposed to be the beacon of hope and the leader. The one who rides above it all. How can they trust that?"

"I'll stand there, right next to you. If they see I'm trusting you even after being taken by Anti, then they'll trust you too." Evelien leaned her head on Sean's.

"My mother used to put her hand between my dad's shoulder blades when he would do his speeches, I remember watching from behind them." Sean smiled, "I can't remember a time she wasn't there."

"Then I can be that for you if you want; if you need it. I'm right here, right behind you, whenever you need a hand." Evelien paused for a moment before kissing the top of his head, she felt Sean lean into her side more.

"I wouldn't mind." Sean commented and Evelien smiled, "what do I say though?"

"I'd ask Chase. I'd probably tell them that you're okay and that Marvin and his apprentices are clearing the castle of Anti's magic." Evelien traced circles in the fabric of his shirt, "plus it's almost the Winter solstice, you'll have to celebrate right?"

"I would but... what if Anti attacks?" Sean's eyes traced the patterns in the veins of Eveliens hands, quietly learning exactly how they looked.

"Then we fight. We'll be prepared for him." Evelien grabbed his hand and held it gingerly for a few seconds before tightening her grip, "I promise you this Sean, him stabbing me hasn't scared me. It's made me ready to fight, stand up for myself. I'm willing to fight for you too. Jackie's better, Marvin's better. You're better. We can take time now to build up, talk to other kingdoms about setting up battle plans. We have the power and the pull for this Sean."

Sean nodded after a minute of thinking and squeezed Evelien's hand back tightly, "we can do this."

"We can." Evelien smiled, "now about that speech.."

__

Sean stood on the balcony where he had made a few speeches before. The balcony faced the main courtyard of the kingdom and was only one story up above the floor level making it only around 20-30ft above the townspeople. Evelien stood near him, wearing a red evening dress with her hair done, with makeup and jewelry. Jackie was nearby, magic charged but his hands were hidden behind his back. Marvin was the same. Chase stood next to Evelien with a sword in hand. The only thing blocking their preparations was the railings of the balcony not having any openings. Sean watched as people gathered slowly, some limped, some got carried, some ran. Most had swords or magic charged but when they saw that the Kings court didn't have any visible most sheathed their swords and dropped the magic.

Sean looked back at Evelien who nodded respectfully, keeping her distance. She'd move up when needed.

"Citizens of Trelan.." Sean started, his hands resting on the balcony, "a week ago we had a direct attack on the kingdom only a few weeks after having a similar attack. We are currently working with other kingdoms rulers to devise a plan to help provide defense and support to those attacked. Right after this proclamation letters will be sent to every kingdom on the island. We will not let this monster ruin any more innocent lives. Mage Marvin and his apprentices are working on clearing the castle and kingdom of any negative energy..."

Sean hesitated when the crowd was eerily silent, Evelien could see his panic from where she stood and slowly moved up. She placed her hand between his shoulders, to copy his mother's actions, and stood next to him.

"Breathe Sean. It's going to be okay." Evelien spoke lightly, smiling at him. Sean nodded and smiled back at her before turning back to the crowd in front of him.

"This was something we will never forget, something that will force us to push forward. We are a tough, resilient, and we will be strong." Sean was cut off by the crowd starting to cheer, making Evelien look at him and smile. He smiled at the crowd before grabbing the hilt of his sword, causing Evelien to take a step back to give him room. He raised his sword and yelled, the majority of the crowd following suit. Evelien raised her fist in response since she didn't have a sword on her at the moment. The rest of the crowd followed. Evelien started to laugh softly, Sean slipped his sword back in its holster as the crowd cheered loudly. Marvin and Jackie opened the doors to the balcony and let Evelien and Sean back in.

"That was amazing Sean!" Evelien smiled, placing her hands on his shoulders with a small ecstatic jump.

"Yeah. I'm glad." Sean sighed in relief with a happy smile. He looked away from Evelien for a few seconds, watching as their friends slowly disperse to do their jobs within the castle walls.

"Ev. Thanks for the hand on the back thing." Sean said softly, watching Evelien as she turned with a small smile.

"I told you I would do it if you needed it. Clearly you got excited." Sean laughed, leaning over to brush some dirt off the edge of her corset. He ended up resting his hand on her hip and Evelien stared up at him. Time slowed for a second, just them standing in the quiet room. Evelien leaned over and kissed Sean's cheek, before leaning in and resting her head on his shoulder. Sean stuttered for a second before wrapping his arms around her.

"Thank you," Sean mumbled into her hair and Evelien hugged him a bit tighter in response.

"Thank you," Evelien muttered after a second, burying her face into the crook of his neck. Sean rested his head on top of her and took a deep breath. They'd dodged a bullet for sure.


	20. chapter nineteen.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its the winter solstice!

"I'm gonna run down to the bakery with Marvin okay?" Evelien wore a heavy dress with a coat over top, winter had fully set in over the past week and snow was already beginning to fall. Small puffs of white cotton floating down the sky, slowly growing bigger as time went on.

"Be careful, it's icy out." Sean kissed her head, "I'm doing my tests all day today anyway, I have a break at noon if you wanna come by my room."

"I'll see you there then!" Evelien waved goodbye and met Marvin at the door. He swung it open and the sound of music blaring filled Sean's ears until the door shut.

"Spending the winter solstice taking tests?"Jackie asked, walking up alongside his brother.

"Just in the morning. I took yours yesterday." Sean pushes his brother with his shoulder, making Jackie laugh. Sean didn't laugh as well, but let his smile falter as he was lost in thought for a second.

"And, by the way, you passed," Jackie said, watching as Sean began to go upstairs. He followed his brother, "Sean?"

"Come with me, quick." Sean waved him on and Jackie shrugged internally and followed his brother up the stairs.

Sean stood on his balcony and watched the large festival. He wasn't too high up, and he could make out Evelien's face. There was something about her defiance to everyone, when he had a sword to her throat, or when Jackie attacked her, the way she didn't seem to even care. Yes, he knew he just met her months ago but something about her was new. Something different. Jackie made it up to the balcony only second later and Sean turned to meet his face.

"Sean, what's the face for?" Jackie walked up to his brother, his hands gripping the wooden balcony next to him. Sean leaned on it and looked forward.

"Evelien. I... I don't know exactly but there's something about her." Sean dipped his head forward and sighed, keeping his head down for a second before looking up. Should he speak his mind? The past six months had conflicted Sean internally. He should tell Jackie, he was his brother-- and the only family member he talked to nowadays, after all.

"Something about her..?" Jackie asked, peering over at his brother with a slightly curious gaze. Sean could see the underlying mischief but chose to ignore it.

"Remember when mother told me I'd know when I was ready for court someone? Maybe I am.." Sean stood and scratched at his chin before dropping his hand and rolling his shoulders back.

"Sean you just met her," Jackie laughed, "I know you believe in love at first sight and all, but you have to realize that now isn't the time for courting."

"I've known her for six months," Sean turned to his brother, "and I know that now we're in some quasi-war with Anti but I don't want to lose this relationship."

"Then don't. Keep her close, but wait until after the war." Jackie said, watching the crowd. He realized how quickly he could pick out Evelien dancing along with the people.

"i.." Sean trailed off, figuring him rambling wouldn't help.

"You love her." Jackie spoke, "I can tell, you're not usually like this with others... but it's too soon."

"I know." Sean sighed, leaning back on the bars, "I have tests to take. I have to go— but thanks for listening... I. I needed to get that off my chest."

"I'm always here for you." Jackie gave his brother some odd side hug and smiled.

"Thanks." Sean walked back into the castle and Jackie watched him go before he looked back down at Evelien in the crowd now alongside Jameson. He chuckled under his breath with a happy smile. Someone who made Sean happy was welcome in his family.

—

Sean didn't know how long had passed, his mind was sore from thinking, strategically planning everything. He made his way into the crowd, the cold breeze setting in as the sun fell behind the buildings. The snow had stopped but left some dustings on the places no one had walked yet. He tugged the jacket around his shoulders a bit tighter and watched as some townspeople worked to make a bonfire in the courtyard, conveniently near the water fountain. Sean just stood and watched, he knew someone was watching him by the burning feelings of eyes on his shoulder but he didn't budge.

"Sean!" Evelien nearly knocked Sean over with a laugh, handing him a cookie.

"I-? What?" Sean was stunned got a second but Evelien motioned for him to grab the cookie.

"They're so good!" She had a huge smile on her face, "and I just played this game where you have to— you probably know all this already though.."

"No no!" Sean grabbed the cookie and smiled at her, "tell me everything about it, I haven't been at the solstice properly in years."

Evelien smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him along. Sean laughed and followed, watching her talk with her hands and her eyes brighter than some of the closest stars or even the sun. She just kept talking and pulling Sean along and though he could feel the cold seeping through his jacket his face wasn't even close to feeling the chill. His face was red, his smile wide. It was a nice feeling. Watching this woman be as excited as a child seeing snow for the first time.

Sometime along Evelien's tour of the castle— and Sean had lied, he knew every event but acted excited about them to make Evelien feel welcomed. He knew it would make her happier. But they had managed to accumulate Jameson and his girlfriend at the bakery, Marvin in the garden, Chase and his kids at some of the fair games and Jackie at the castle doors. Sitting alongside his found family, the people he knew as his friend-family. They watched as school kids did a performance recreation of the battle that had happened only weeks ago.

"The kid playing you looks just like you," Evelien muttered softly, resting her head in the crook of Sean's neck. Sean laughed and nodded, agreeing. Evelien didn't move and slowly crept her hand on top of his. Sean didn't move for a few minutes, then slipped one of his arms around her lower waist. They stayed there, in the back on the fountain until the show ended. Sean glanced over and saw Evelien's eyes closed and when looking up the moon was setting. It had to have been about 3 am at this point, tired people wondering back to their homes. Sean lifted Evelien and cradled his head against his chest, not wanting to wake her up. Jameson followed, his girlfriend quietly whispering and making Jameson laugh mutely. Jackie followed Sean and when the two made eye contact he smiled softly, Chase was leading the group, holding his son in his arms, his daughter skipping alongside him.

"Successful day, King Sean." An advisor said, watching everyone slip into the castle.

"Seems so." Sean smiled at the advisor. She was an older woman with a soft smile and short white hair. She had worked with the royal family her whole life and had trained his brothers and father. Sean was now her last trainee.

"When you're available, I'd wish to speak alone about your scores." She said and Sean nodded.

"Of course, Miss Nicole." Sean nodded.

"I can take Evelien to her room," Marvin said, Jackie, standing beside him and nodding.

"Okay, thank you." Sean gingerly handed over the— somehow still unconscious Princess and turned. Nicole waved him on and they went up the staircase. Marvin waited a few seconds and made his way up as well.


	21. chapter twenty.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelien has a couple odd moments

The bell tower rung, 8 pm. Evelien walked through the garden, her hands sweeping past the flowers. She hadn't seen Sean today, in fact, she had only seen Jameson early in the morning when she woke. Sean was most likely occupied with the whole king-duties and such. She was still a bit intrigued, Sean would tell her before he had to do things that would take all day.

Evelien's hands started to get cold. She had forgotten when she had come out into the garden at this point and didn't feel like going back inside just yet. The cold, the frigid air, her shivers. It felt good. Evelien just stared towards the path to the castle, did she actually feel like going in? It was cold. She felt delicate.

\---

"Evelien? Hello? Hey!" A clap in front of Evelien's face caused her to jump. Brianna was holding onto the arm of Lydia, the two watching her with distress. As Evelien slowly blinked and her mind refocused, she realized she was shaking heavily and couldn't feel her hands. The bell tower rung nine pm. She had been standing there for an hour?

"Hm?" Evelien glanced at the two and Lydia pulled off her jacket and wrapped it around Eveliens shoulders.

"You look weak, and not in your mind right now. C'mon, let's get you back to your room." Lydia began to guide Evelien, Brianna following behind the two. The walk was quickly paced by Lydia to an almost running speed. Once the group made it into Eveliens room they sat her down on her bed and threw the heavy woven blankets over her shoulders.

"Are you okay?" Brianna asked, smoothing Eveliens arms through the blanket.

"I've just been thinking. There's a lot in my head." Evelien shook her head and cuddled further into the covers. 

"Well, what's going on then?" Brianna asked and Evelien shook her head.

"I can't think right now, how about you guys. I'll try to pin down my thoughts as you talk." Evelien smiled slightly, trying to stop herself from shivering.

"Well, Brianna and I are overseeing the building of a new area for all the 'post-possessed' citizens. After possession, it takes a few months to recover memories completely so once they remember they're gonna need a place to live. Marvin, Jameson, and Jackie have been working on planning it and how the system works. It's actually really intriguing." Lydia explained and Evelien nodded, Chase had mentioned that they had been housing the reformed 'puppets' in Trelan.

"Oh! Chase has been watching over us and training us about how to work in Trelan! Today was our last day of-- what Chase loosely termed as school, and tomorrow we can go off on our own and be your full-time advisors!" Brianna smiled widely and Evelien couldn't help but smile too.

"So you've been busy these past three or four months?" Evelien asked, her brain starting to function again as she made herself talk and thinking, shaking the cold from herself.

"Yep! Now its time for a bit more relaxing work though." Lydia smiled and Brianna left the room, "She's going to get some tea and a towel with warm water to help warm you up faster."

"Oh. Thank you." Evelien sighed, trying to nuzzle or burrow as deep as she could into the comforter of her bed. When Brianna came back she had someone else carrying the pail of water but Evelien didn't see. She was tucked deeply in the blankets. The container was set down and Lydia bumped Eveliens shoulder. The princess sat up and reached for the tea with trembling hands. Lydia guided Evelien's movements and watched her drink slowly. The warm tea rushing down her frozen throat and her shivering stomach heated her up internally. Brianna wrung out the towel and folded it, pressing it against Evelien's forehead.

"I'm sorry ladies, I'm just thinking about so much I must've just spaced out completely," Evelien muttered before taking another sip of her tea. 

"It's okay, hey, thanks for carrying the pail Chase," Brianna replied and Chase nodded.

"Feel better Evelien, let me know if you need anything." Chase beamed from the doorway and moved out of it, shutting the door behind him.

"So Evelien," Lydia sat next to the princess and adjusted the crown on her head, "What's on your mind? A boy?

"Hey!" Evelien blushed, "I'm not thinking about Sean."

"She didn't say you were thinking about Sean." Brianna giggled and Evelien groaned.

"Fine, you caught me." Evelien shrank into the blankets and her two advisors were quick to fuss.

"Why?"

"Oh, we knew it!"

"Tell us please??"

"Evelien!!"

"At least tell me, Brianna can't keep a secret for her life."

"I can!"

Evelien watched the two advisors with a small grin, then playfully spoke, "If I say something will the both of you leave it alone?"

"Yes!" They both shouted Brianna leaned close to Evelien who snorted through her nose and took the last sip of her tea.

"Alright alright! Give me room to breathe!" Evelien laughed and Brianna sat down.

"When I got here I was a bit taken aback by how casual he was, he was super sweet, respectful and protective of me. I thought at first it was out of pity but now I feel like its because we're close. I know it's only been six months but I've never been this close to anyone! Plus my mom was trying to court us, and even though I wasn't ready for marriage at the time maybe this was meant to be?"

"YOu wanna marry the king!?" Brianna shouted and Lydia smacked a hand over her mouth, Evelien began to laugh loudly and smiled.

"Yeah, kinda. But he'd have to date me first so I can see if he's acceptable." Evelien looked towards the ribbon on her wrist.

"I already gave him a courtship ribbon from my formal dress," Evelien commented and Lydia and Brianna both gasped.

"You did? When!" Brianna yelled.

"The day of the funeral. I was so distraught at the time I think I gave it to him as more of a 'thank you' gift but now it definitely is a courtship ribbon." Evelien smiled and Lydia squealed, hugging her side.

"You two would make the cutest couple!" Brianna squealed.

\--

Jackie smiled from where he stood outside the door. Feelings went both ways, time to tell Chase.

"Brody, C'mere," Jackie rushed down the hall away from Evelien's door. He wasn't one to eavesdrop, but things had changed.


	22. chapter twenty-one.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelien meets Jackie, then they get in trouble...

"Evelien." Jackie knocked on the side of the doorframe Evelien had left open. The princess turned and looked up him.

"Meet me at the jailhouse in twenty minutes, alone, please," Jackie said and simply walked away, leaving Evelien no time to ask any questions. It was odd Jackie had requested Evelien's presence at the jail-house late at night, any normal person would've ignored the invite, but after her talk with Lydia and Brianna, Evelien was feeling on top of the world. She grabbed her swords, both her formal and informal one and a thick men's jacket. She wasn't sure who's it was but she was going to use it. As she made her way down the stairwell she saw Chase talking to Sean and walked past them.

"Where are you going so late?" Chase asked, gently grabbing her upper arm.

"To visit Charles in the infirmary." Evelien lied, Jackie had said alone. If she told them 'oh I'm going to the jailhouse' they'd certainly be upset.

"Oh okay, tell him I said hello," Chase said, Sean nodded.

"Nice jacket," Sean commented.

"Just found it in my room." Evelien chucked and slipped out the door.

"I left that there on accident a few weeks ago." Sean snickered and Chase pushed him.

"C'mon let's finish these plans so you can have free time tomorrow." Chase guided Sean's conversation but knew in his heart something was up with Evelien.

—

Pushing open the jailhouse door, Evelien saw Jackie and took a deep breath.

"Hey," Evelien called and Jackie turned with a soft smile.

"Hey!" Jackie walked over and smiled a bit wider.

"So what did you need me for..?" Evelien asked and Jackie sighed.

"I've been doing researching on Anti by myself. I ran into this group in the woods and told them what I was doing. They had a few people who were possessed in their capture. They were a group of Marks citizens going around their perimeter and making sure there were many more possessed people. Between getting those puppets and the ones that fought us I have about thirty more of— I'm assuming your citizens." Jackie grabbed her arm and gently pulled her along to the back of the jailhouse.

"So, every cell down here has one or two puppets. Some weren't that aggressive and could go together." Jackie explained, motioning to them.

"Lydia told me about making that town for them as they rehabilitate," Evelien said.

"That still has to be cleared by Sean but we finished planning a few hours ago," Jackie commented.

"I'm sure Sean will let you." Evelien smiled at Jackie, "he's your brother after all."

"I have to ask you something about him when we're done here," Jackie said.

"Okay.." Evelien looked back at Jackie who handed her the lantern and pulled out a pad of paper and a quill.

"I'll try to name everyone I know." Evelien nodded and started down the line. The majority of the people were from her Kingdom. It was good to see them recovering, some were even able to recognize her. It broke Evelien's heart. She had to tell them what had happened, who was dead, who was missing. The majority of them were in shock, but Evelien wasn't allowed to touch them or go in their cells. Jackie was afraid if she did, one would attack her, then they'd have to call Sean and it would be this huge mess. Sean didn't know how many were in the jailhouse and had no idea Jackie had gotten more from Marks kingdom. Jackie turned, the thoughts in his head ceasing as Evelien's lantern was set down alongside a cell. Jackie took a step over and tilted his head in confusion.

"Dad?" Evelien whispered, her hand squeezing the bar. Inside was a man, staring at her. His gaze was cold and unfamiliar. Though His face was still familiar in its similarities to Evelien's. She slowly reached out and stopped midway as the male rose and walked towards her. Evelien stepped back but kept her arm a bit extended. With a slam on the bars, the man tried to grab arm and Evelien ripped her arm back as hard as she could, the loud tear of the fabric echoed as Evelien stumbled back. Jackie catching her and pointing a sword towards the male who held a ripped piece of her fabric against the bars as he screeched in an inhumane voice.

"Get back!" Jackie snapped his arm tight around Evelien's waist. The male slammed against the bars and purple sparks flicked off.

"I said back!" Jackie yelled again, pushing his sword closer. Evelien held her hands out and made a shield and pushed her dad back onto the bed. He breathed and slowly calmed down once he realized he couldn't attack her anymore.

"Oh my god.." Evelien murmured, her eyes wide and brimmed with tears she quickly attempted to blink back. Jackie turned to her and pulled her into the center of the walkway.

"Are you okay?" He asked, examining her arm. Evelien nodded and rested her head against his chest as she caught her breath.

"Maybe this wasn't a good idea... I'm so sorry." Jackie said and Evelien shook her head.

"No, it's okay. I wasn't thinking. He was the last one anyways." Evelien said. Her hair had fallen out of its ponytail from the sudden movement. Jackie nodded and guided Evelien outside by the small of her back as she adjusted her corset to fit normally again.

"Ahem." Marvin's voice called, the seer swooping in next to them, "what the hell are you doing Jackson?"

"Uh—" Jackie started but Marvin's glare at Evelien stopped him.

"And you?" He asked.

"I—" Evelien started but Jackie cut her off, "I was having her identify the puppets, one attacked her."

"You heard Sean's order!" Marvin slapped Jackie's head, "he said she was to never go in the jailhouse unless he was there!"

Evelien felt her heart drop. She knew she had lied to Sean, but she didn't know he didn't want her in there.

"And having her walking out with messy hair, adjusting her outfit? Jackson that's what starts rumors, you're lucky no one else is around. And that I know you're smarter than that." Marvin crossed his arms. Evelien was quick to start fixing her ponytail.

"I didn't think anyone would attack her! If I had known one was still hostile I wouldn't have brought her in!" Jackie yelled, Evelien pressing her hand on his chest as a way to calm him.

"You disobeyed a direct order! Sean's already upset enough!" Marvin snapped back and Evelien found herself in the middle of a yelling argument. She stepped back a bit and tried to stop them from arguing but they just wouldn't stop.

"Gentlemen!" A voice roared and Evelien glanced to see Chase.

"Jackson and Evelien, report to Sean. Marvin, go home. You are not involved." Chase's voice was cold.

"Yes, Sir." Marvin left quickly and Jackie looked at Chase.

"This is my fault, don't punish her."

"That's up to Sean. I can't control what he does."


	23. chapter twenty-two.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelien gets healed

Evelien followed Jackie into the castle, her shoes tapping softly as she walked into the tile room. She was a bit afraid, though Jackie told her he'd take the blame since it was his idea. Evelien's arm, now that she looked at it, was a little scratched where her sleeve had been torn from. Her own father attacked her. He didn't even recognize her! Evelien sighed and wiped her face. She was fine.

_Don't cry about anyone or anything you can't control._

Sean was standing when the two walked in, Evelien cradling her one arm still in a bit of shock as the events kept replaying in her head. How upset would Sean be with her and Jackie? How much trouble was Jackie going to be in?

"Sir Jackson and Princess Evelien," Sean spoke, the two kneeling as he said their names.

"Jackson, you disobeyed direct orders and lied directly to me. Evelien, you lied directly to me. These are offenses that could be punishable." Sean's tone was cold and Evelien refused to look up, she was afraid to. She was embarrassed.

"King—"

"Silence." Sean's voice cut Jackie off before he could speak, "who is responsible?"

"I am." Both said, Jackie sent Evelien a look.

"Evelien, state your case." Sean looked at her and Evelien nodded.

"Jackie invited me to the jailhouse at night and requested I go alone. He didn't say what for, and in hindsight, I probably should've not gone knowing how cryptic his message was. I lied to you and Chase because I knew if I said I was going to the jailhouse you would want to accompany me and if I had told you the full reason why I was going you would've not let me go for my own safety." Evelien looked up at Sean as she spoke, keeping her voice level and trying not to show how upset she was. He looked her over and sighed.

"Jackie?"

"I invited Evelien to the jailhouse to identify some of the puppets here, I figured it would be good to get it out of the way since we're working on a plan of rehabilitation for them. She met me there and identified everyone that she knew, however, the last one attacked her and tore her sleeve. Sean... this was my idea. I went against your direct order because I believed it would be easier and faster to get what I needed to get done, done. I told you I was going to train because I knew you wouldn't question me." Jackie looked up at Sean and he sighed.

"You may stand. Evelien, go to Henrik and get your arm checked, once you're done come to my room so we can talk. Jackie, go up to your room and rest. You have a two day penalty from patrol. You are dismissed." Sean sat and Jackie stood, helping Evelien up. She nodded to him in a quiet thank you and turned and rushed out of the castle doors. She stood in the moonlight and sighed. Henrik, she had to find him. Did she want to? Not really. She huffed, she couldn't disobey his direct order though. Turning she made her way down the cobbled path, people passing her glances. She was lucky the jacket sleeve hadn't ripped since it had rolled up when her arm lifted and her father's hand had grabbed her dress sleeve instead. She walked into the infirmary and Henrik was already waiting for her.

"Evelien. I can't say I'm not disappointed." He said and Evelien sat down.

"Don't make me feel worse. Jackie wanted to take all the blame. Now Sean wants to talk to me after I'm done here." Evelien groaned, running a hand through her hair and laying her arm on the table. Henrik inspected it quietly for a few seconds before glancing up at Evelien.

"I don't think he's mad at you," Henrik said carefully, he lifted Evelien's arm and laid his hand along the wound. The burning sensation making Evelien flinch.

"Why don't you think so?" Evelien asked in a low voice, she was mad at herself. Jackie had even told her not to try to touch them and yet she did.

"Because if he was mad, you wouldn't be sitting here right now. I'd be in the castle." Henrik smiled, lifting his arm off with a bit of hesitation then grabbing some bandages to wrap her arm up.

"He seemed angry. He had no emotion in his voice and this undecipherable look on his face." Evelien complained, looking at Henrik who only smiled wider.

"He's worried about you. Did he give you a penalty?"

"Not yet."

"Then he isn't mad. I'm assuming he gave Jackie one then?"

"Two days off patrol, I think he said." Evelien watched as Henrik snipped the edge of the bandage and tucked it into the other wrapped area.

"He's mad at Jackie for putting you in a position where you could be injured," Henrik said, pulling down Evelien's sleeve, "he's worried about how you're feeling, what you saw, and your safety. I shouldn't say this but..."

Henrik looked back and forth down the hallway and leaned in to whisper, "I saw the maroon band, Chase explained it to him as more of a friendship thing than a courtship thing. I know what it means though, Chase has brought it up before. I can tell you this. Those feelings are probably not one-sided."

With that, Henrik stood and looked down the hall, "I have patients I have to give medicine to, I trust you to walk yourself back to the castle. Okay?"

"Y-yeah." Evelien stuttered with a flushed face before getting up and looking at Henrik who offered a small smile, "Goodnight, Princess Evelien."

"Goodnight, Doctor Schneeplestien," Evelien replied slowly and made her way out of the infirmary. She pulled the jacket closer to her frame as she walked along the cobbled paths, feeling something new. This jitter in her stomach, the flushed face she couldn't get rid of. She was now ten times more nervous about seeing Sean, though not in a bad way. She now had to try to not let her feelings get the best of her, she had to keep a level head.

Her feet carried her softly along the dark green carpet of the upstairs hall, down to the double doors. She froze in front of them for a few seconds, letting herself relax. She nuzzled into the jacket, this was Sean's. She should probably return it, he might want it back. Taking a deep breath she forced herself to knock on the door. There was no backing out of this now.


	24. chapter twenty-three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sean and Evelien have a moment

Evelien sat on Sean's bed, he leaned against the wall. She had only been in his room briefly a few times but now she took a moment to survey what was in the room as she shrugged off her jacket and laid it beside her on the bed.

"So." Sean sighed, clearly showing his exhaustion, "how is your arm?"

"Good. Henrik didn't have to do much." Evelien held her arm out to show him the bandages, "though the fabric needed to repair it is still in the jailhouse, I assume I won't be getting that back."

"Why would you even go?" Sean asked, "you had no idea what he would do to you? After being kidnapped by Anti I'd think you'd be super cautious."

"I trust Jackie, believe it or not," Evelien sighed, "I didn't think he had ill intentions, Sean, I thought maybe he needed a quiet place to talk where no one would eavesdrop. I didn't really think it through either but that still isn't a bad thing."

"You were in a dangerous place where I told Jackie to specifically never bring you!" Sean snapped and Evelien stood.

"I'm not a child Sean, I can take care of myself! I don't need your constant guiding. I brought swords, I was charged up on magic, I would've been fine if he fought me." Evelien brushed her skirt off.

"I know but I still worry about you." Sean leaned back against the wall, running his hand through the front of his hair and then dropping it. His tone dropped with his hand, "I care about you and I don't want to see you injured again. So much has happened these past months and you've already been through so much, you deserve a break."

"You don't have to worry about me, Sean." Evelien took a step towards him and cupped his face with one hand, watching him as he slightly leaned into her touch, "I promise I'll be okay."

"I'm still going to worry," Sean gently held her hand and Evelien pulled their hands down to her chest level. Evelien was amazing with how quickly he calmed, he was just tired, She thought. She then slowly stepped closer and wrapped her arm around his neck, keeping their fingers intertwined on the other hand. Sean placed his hand on her hip and slowly moved away from the wall.

"What're we dancing now?" Sean laughed, gently spinning around with Evelien.

"Well I was gonna hug you, but if you wanna dance all we need is some music." Evelien smiled, pressing her palm against Sean's chest as he pulled her a bit closer.

"I don't have any in here." He said, resting his cheek against the top of her head.

"Hm. That's okay. We can just sway." Evelien murmured and they did just that. For a few minutes in silence, just staying close, before Evelien spoke up, "so what's my punishment for disobeying the law?"

"Hm? Oh. I was just going to make your stay in the castle tomorrow. Though you can also go to the garden." Sean said and Evelien nodded, "but then Jackie told me that everything was his idea and that I shouldn't punish you... I think that scratch was enough of a lesson."

"I lied to you, Sean." Evelien stepped back and Sean's arms slipped out from behind her back and his hands rested on her hips.

"I trust you to not tell anyone or do it again." Sean said, "I just don't want to punish you. You've been through enough."

Evelien looked at Sean and down at his lips. She couldn't help but glance even if it was just for a second. For the first time in her short time in Trelan, she felt a pull, but she shouldn't. She sighed softly and ducked her head back into the crook of his neck to try to suppress the urge but it only grew.

"You okay? You feel a little warm." Sean gently lifted Evelien's head by her jaw and placed his hand on her forehead. She didn't respond, trying to keep her flustered state down. She felt it too and she wasn't sure if it was because she was blushing or if it was because she was getting sick.

"You're warm." He said softly, Evelien hummed and placed her forehead square in the center of his chest. She didn't know wait to say or to expect. She certainly didn't expect Sean to pick her up and set her on the bed.

"You probably got a cold from being outside for so long. I heard about you spacing out in the garden." Evelien nodded and yawned, Sean gently shifted her and sat behind her and slowly undid her corset and slipped it off of her.

"I've been thinking of a lot lately," Evelien leaned back on him and he shifted just enough to lay down and shift her so that her head was resting on his shoulder.

"Of what?" Sean asked, rubbing his hand along the ribbon on his wrist before gently wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Thoughts. Everything and anything I guess." Evelien shrugged and Sean hummed.

"I know how that can feel." He said, pulling her a bit tighter.

"You kept the ribbon," Evelien said and Sean nodded.

"I told you I'd tell you to want that meant, right?" She smiled, and even in her sleepy-getting sick state she was confident in telling him.

"Yeah you did, what does it mean?" Sean asked softly, "Chase told me what he thought it meant but I'd wanna hear what you want it to mean."

"Courtship, basically." Evelien blushed, leaning on him a bit, "it's basically a way of saying, I like you. When I gave it to you I was lost mentally, unsure of where to go or what to do. You helped me and made me feel welcomed. Back then maybe it was more of a thank you, but now that we're nearing the clearing in the middle of the woods I know what I want."

"Courtship, hm," Sean mumbled with a tiny smile. Evelien shimmied herself up a bit to place a kiss on his cheek.

"You missed," Sean whispered as the two were nose to nose. Evelien looked up and her eyebrows knit.

"I missed what?—" her confusion was cut off by a soft kiss. Tentative and slow, as if asking permission. Evelien lifted a hand to brush through the back of his hair as she completely filled the gap. Quick in time but slow in pace, when she pulled away Sean's eyes had a sparkling gaze.

Needless to say, missing wasn't a bad thing in her mind.


	25. chapter twenty-four.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *insert Adele's Rumour Has It here*

Chase had gone in Sean's room at about 3 am to check the fireplace, sure he'd be sleeping by then. Lydia has gone to check Evelien's room and see if BB needed more food. Chase wasn't sure what to walk into, with Sean's stressed state it was impossible to know what to expect. But when he went in he didn't expect to see Evelien laying on Sean's chest, her hair out of its ponytail cascading across her face and hiding it from view. Sean was laying with an arm around her back and his other arm laying straight out. The two breathed slow, quiet breaths and Evelien shifted to be a bit closer to him. The blanket was up to their shoulders and they laid tangled together underneath. Holding his breath, Chase quietly moved, putting another two logs on the fire and closing the metal grate so they wouldn't fall out of the fireplace. Walking out he blew out a candle by the doorway, reminding himself to replace it once the sun rose.

—

The sun rose faster than anyone wanted it to. Evelien was awoken by Sean shifting under her and she groaned softly as she rolled onto her back and stretched her arms.

"Good morning," Sean said groggily, Evelien looked over and smiled.

"Good morning, love." Evelien kissed his forehead and Sean smiled widely.

"So," he prompted, sitting up on his elbows and looking at Evelien who laid beside him, "how do we sneak you out of here?"

"I can put my corset back on and just walk out if anyone asks I can say we were discussing something?" Evelien sat up and ran her fingers through her hair trying to flatten it, "but why do I need to sneak out?"

"Well, I meant to tell you last night but I'm getting re-crowned as full overseer of the kingdom. Technically right now I share with my advisors even if I'm seen as the main king— uh so all the advisors I've had are here and other kings and queens started traveling to watch the ceremony and I know Amy, Mark, Marzia and Felix are here." Sean said, looking over at Evelien who nodded slowly, "it's gonna happen tomorrow at sunset."

"So whos crowning you if Jackie's off patrol?" Evelien asked and Sean smiled

"He can technically still attend a ceremony." Sean said, lifting a hand to brush Evelien's hair out of her face then rested it on her jaw, "It's custom for another ruler to crown the incoming rulers in Trelan when they finish their training. So I was thinking of letting either you or some of my other friends do it. You could all do it together honestly."

"I'd love to Sean." Evelien smiled, sliding towards him and kissing him while laying propped up on one elbow. He smiled slightly and ran and hand through her hair while pressing their foreheads together.

"We should probably get up, it looks like it's almost noon," Evelien mumbled and Sean sighed.

"I could lay in bed all day." He complained before he kissed her and rolled to his side of the bed to get up. Evelien smiled and followed suit.

—

Evelien stood in the kitchen with Lydia and Brianna, out of the way of the other royals and ambassadors who were meeting with Sean.

"I thought he was already crowned," Brianna muttered, stuffing some bread into her mouth.

"He was but it was like a half crowning, I guess? He was crowned as the public figure of the kingdom, he makes the announcements and can plan quick events but anything big like declaring war or making new laws he has to go through his advisors to get their permission. After he gets re-crowned he can do everything on his own until he gets a queen, then she shares power with him." Evelien explained quickly, grabbing an apple from a basket. Chase had told them to wait for him in the back corner of the kitchen and while the workers hustled behind them they had picked a remote corner and were brought some snacks.

"While he's king, could he declare you the queen of the Southern Isles since your parents are missing?" Lydia asked, "as more citizens awaken they need someone to go to, right? We need a government, so it would make so much sense to crown you since you're the only non-missing royal."

"Did you forget the MRO? Missing Royal Order? I technically am the queen— but not like officially or anything. I can just act as Queen." Evelien said, sighing. Looking down at her stitched and bandaged arm.

"What happened to you, I meant to ask?" Brianna held her arm gingerly with two hands.

"I— Uhm. I'm not allowed to say per Sean's request." Evelien said softly, Sean had told her she wasn't allowed to say she assumed it was so that the rumor of puppets in the kingdom wouldn't spread.

"Did he do this?" Lydia snapped and Evelien jumped and immediately shook her head.

"Oh lord no! In fact, we actually had a much nicer night." Evelien said softly then giggled under her breath.

"What happened, tell!" Brianna yelled and Lydia and Evelien both hushed her.

"I will, my oh my." Evelien smiled and began to retell the tale of the night before. Lydia and Brianna listened intently and smiled and giggled and cheered along with her story. The three sat in the back of the kitchen as the food for the knighting was cooked and other preparations were planned.

_Little did Evelien know that some of the kitchen hands had listened._

After a few hours of talking, Chase eventually showed up and guided them upstairs so continue their own preparations for the day that was coming. The re-crowning, or the full crowing of King Sean. She looked at the decorations and decided a few small decisions with Chase— like her dress color. As the sunset on the kingdom, Evelien stood on Sean's balcony with a glass of wine in her hand. Jackie stood next to her and smiled as he told her about Sean's first crowning. The suns warm glow faded and the two stood a bit closer to share heat.

_And oh the kingdom saw._


	26. chapter twenty-five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sean gets crowned, Evelien has a rough encounter, Amy gets defensive.

Trelan was bigger than every kingdom on the island and even with that fact, word spread quickly through the around two thousand citizens. A rumor that would stay hush for only a few hours overnight before the kingdom erupted with the over-told stories and supposed tales of the brothers and their relationship with the new princess. Even with the confusion, the crowning was still going on.

Chase, Jameson, Henrik, and Lydia knew the rumor and had met late at night to discuss what to do. They had— for the current moment, decided to do nothing and to just wait and see what would happen. The re-crowning was scheduled for sundown so the day was spent slowly preparing the town square and the main throne room to fit thousands of people. The doors were taken off and moved out of sight, all the windows were opened wide and tables of snacks were set up for the evening.

Evelien woke in her room around 10 am, BB purring against her chest. She smiled and pet the cat before three knocks at her door caused her to sit up.

"Come in!" she called, nudging BB off her chest, who curled up in a ball on the corner of her bed. Chase stepped in and smiled, Lydia behind him.

"Good morning, breakfast is making its way up with Brianna but now it's time to get ready!" Chase pulled the blankets off her and Lydia grabbed her hands and lifted her up. The three rushed out the door and began the rush to get prepared for the day.

They rushed down the hall into a big room with mirrors around the walls. They say her down in a chair and let her eat while they went to go grab some other queens and princesses.  
She saw Amy and Marzia walk in and the three began to talk amongst themselves as they ate.

"So, we heard about your interactions with the Mcloughlin brothers," Marzia said, her hair pulled back into a low ponytail.

"With Sean and Jackie?" Evelien asked and Amy nodded, sipping some sort of tea she had been given.

"You kissed Sean?" Amy asked after swallowing her drink.

"Mhm." Evelien blushed and grabbed a piece of potato and eating it.

"So are you two a thing yet or no?" Amy smiled, pulling a chair up for her and Marzia who thanked her softly.

"Not yet," Evelien said, looking at the two in the mirror.

"Then what's with you and Jackie?" Marzia asked, stealing a piece of Eveliens breakfast.

"We're just friends. Closer, like family though." Evelien smiled.

"Evelien, Cmon back!" Lydia waved her on and Evelien nodded and stood, waving goodbye to her friends.

"Go get ya mans Evelien!" Amy shouted and Evelien laughed as she slipped behind the curtains in the corner of the room. Lydia held a dark purple dress, clearly a bit heavy. She and Brianna took the dress apart layer by layer. First, they slipped on a long sleeve black underdress, then a black petticoat that wasn't too big. Then went on a dark purple skirt, thick with multiple layers. There was one layer that was flat and slightly wavy with two top layers of a slightly lighter color that were cut in a V on the front. Then she put on a jacket type top over the skirt that just matched up, and then a corset. Brianna led her to the mirrors and Marzia and Amy went back behind the curtains while they lightly applied some makeup to her face.

By the time she was done, it was only 3 pm, so Chase sat her down and ran her and Mark— who wore his complete king uniform, through the whole crowning ceremony and how to do it. Felix stopped by briefly to talk to the two about when to walk in and then left to go conduct some sort of introduction ceremony with Marzia.

—

Evelien and Mark walked beside each other, quietly, as the room was silent. Sean stood in the middle of the room beside Jackie who flashed Evelien a reassuring smile upon seeing how nervous the princess looked. She rolled her shoulders back and fixed her posture. Mark and Evelien bowed to Sean and Jackie and the two bowed back to them. Mark stepped forwards and took off Sean's crown, setting it on a table behind him. Evelien and Mark both pulled out their knighting swords and Sean kneeled down and dropped his head, closing his eyes as he did so. The entirety of Trelan watched with careful eyes.

Evelien placed a hand on the edge of the crown, it's gold surface reflecting her face as she looked at it, and she held her decorative knighting sword over Sean's left shoulder since it was the side she was on. Mark did the same but with the right side, making eye contact with Evelien and the two smiled softly. Jackie stepped up and held his over Sean's head, not holding the crown.

"Sean Mcloughlin." Chase said, "do you swear to do all you can for the greater good of this kingdom, do you promise to protect all citizens regardless of social class or health, do you promise to fight when you need to and to defend when needed, do you promise to uphold the rules of this land and your ancestors?"

In between each question Sean would say yes and nod. After the questions were asked the swords were pushed away from Sean's body and re-sheathed slowly. Evelien grabbed the crown and slowly set it on Sean's head, before kneeling down in front of him and grabbing his chin so he looked up. The two stared for a second before Evelien held her hand out and green paint was smudged on her finger. She smeared the paint on his forehead and stood up before wiping her hand off on a piece of cloth given to her by Lydia. She held out her hand and Sean gripped it with his left, Mark held out his hand and he gripped it with his right, then he stood. The kingdom behind him cheered and Sean smiled widely, Evelien and Mark returned the smiles.

"Sean Mcloughlin, you have officially been fully crowned as King of Trelan!" Felix yelled with a smile towards his friend and Sean turned around and the crowd cheered.

—-

Music played behind Evelien's head as she stood next to Marzia and Amy in the corner of the castles main ball-room, a room Evelien hadn't seen before. Marzia wore a light blue dress and Amy wore a red one. Evelien had been given a dark purple dress to match her crown. She had told them about the night she had spent with Sean. The three talked softly and laughed when a man approached them, one that clearly made Amy and Marzia slightly uncomfortable.

"Don't answer his questions." Amy whispered, "just ignore him, he's a newspaper writer and he writes twisted stories about everyone."

Evelien nodded as the man approached, he smiled and bowed and the three politely returned the gesture.

"Greetings Princess Evelien, Princess Amy, and Queen Marzia. I'm George Lucien from the island's newspaper!" He nodded then turned and spoke before Amy could speak,@ Miss Evelien I have to ask you about your relationship with the McLoughlin brothers?" He said and Evelien looked back at Amy who mouthed 'answer this.'

"Strictly platonic sir, I don't see why this needs to be questioned." Evelien responded calmly, "I am here for shelter until my dilemma is dealt with and I can return home."

"Well, there's some rumors afloat, that you have some sort of affair with both of them." The man smiled, Evelien simply looked away giving Amy a panicked look.

"Miss," he said, "Miss."

"She's not answering any more questions," Marzia said softly holding her hands in front of her.

Evelien kept her attention on Amy who gently smiled. Amy motioned for her to walk towards where Sean was. As the girls began to move Evelien felt something touch her side and all a sudden her sleeve was roughly grabbed by George and she shrieked, pulling her arm away from him. Marzia and Amy quickly pulled her away from the reporter and rushed off to where the others were. Evelien moved swiftly alongside her friends and when they found Sean, Mark and Felix it was clear that something had happened just by the looks on their faces.


	27. chapter twenty-six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I need to remember to update this,,
> 
> Evelien hides outside again, Lydia's too tense, Sean and Evelien talk it out.

Evelien didn't see Sean much for the rest of the week, he was busy and she couldn't even stop by his room the first few days since there were still royals there. He apparently had done 'something' to the reporter since his grip had bruised Evelien but no one would tell her what happened. She had spent the week with Marzia and Amy until they left, then with Brianna and Lydia. This Friday was slow, and Evelien had been sitting in her room for the past hour getting her hair cut by Lydia.

"What am I supposed to do about these rumors," Evelien asked softly, Lydia sighed.

"You're going to have to declare your relationship with one as official, and leave the other one to a friendship," Lydia said as she ran her fingers through Evelien's hair and trimmed the edges off, cutting the last few pieces. She had decided to cut it a bit shorter as the end of winter was approaching.

"I hope that news reporter didn't write anything," Evelien muttered bitterly.

"If he did, I'm sure Sean will address—" Lydia started before the door was slammed open by Jameson, Marvin hitting the doorway behind him.

"Gentlemen? What's the matter?" Lydia asked. She was breathing quickly from just being scared by the door.

"Read this." Marvin tossed a newspaper to Evelien who unraveled it and cursed under her breath. Chase and Brianna appeared in the doorway, curious about what had happened due to the noise. Jackie was there too.

'QUEEN MCLOUGHLIN?'

"I already hate this." Evelien snapped and her door was shut. The group swarmed above her and she read it out loud.

"We all know Princess Evelien Smolders of the Southern Isles. She's been the talking point of the past half-year ever since she was one of the few survivors from her kingdoms attack. But what if I told you she had a name change? Now Queen Evelien Mcloughlin of Trelan. The night before Sean's crowning a private ceremony was held in the throne room. The two had a quiet reception before heading up the stairs to—" Evelien couldn't finish the paper. She stood and handed it back to Lydia.

"This is disgusting." She said, her hands running through her hair, "absolutely horrid. Who wrote this?"

"George. The same one who bruised you." Chase said, looking at the paper.

"How did he get access to a printing press? I thought Sean kicked him out of the castle grounds." Marvin said.

"He probably went somewhere else," Jackie commented and Evelien found her legs carrying her elsewhere as the group followed her. Mumbling and shouting behind her as she went down the stairs to the side of the castle.

"Evelien where are you going?" Lydia gently grabbed Evelien's arm and the girl looked back at her.

"To the garden, alone." Evelien snapped and pushed open the side doors while tightening her coat on her shoulders. She walked into the rows of bushes and sat down on a swing, gentle kicking her feet as she looked around Sean's mother's garden. She huffed and shivered against the cold wind blowing in.

What was she supposed to do? Was she supposed to say to that article? Did Sean know? What was she to Sean? How was the kingdom reacting? How were the puppets? When was the war going to be done? Who was Anti?

Evelien groaned as she curled her knees up to her chest and sat in a ball. Her mind raced with so many unanswered questions and she felt lost. She huffed and laid her head back and let the cold air hit her skin. She didn't know what to do, what to say, how to act, she felt like she didn't know anything. She groaned out loud and stood, pacing back and forth to keep herself warm. She huffed and sat back down, she wasn't sure why she always separated herself when she got anxious or scared. Her friends would help her, she knew that, but she just felt like she needed to do things alone. So when a familiar voice said her name she didn't move, the person sat next to her and wrapped a thick jacket around her shoulders.

"Lydia told me about the article and that you were out here. It's too cold to be sitting outside without a heavy jacket." Sean mumbled, rubbing her back. Evelien leaned on him and sighed softly.

"I'm so sorry." She mumbled, and Sean wrapped and arm around her.

"Why?" He asked, "what's there to be sorry about?"

"Ever since I got here, the drama has started everywhere." She looked up at him, her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah but you haven't caused any of it, there's nothing we could do to start or stop these." Sean stood and guided Evelien up with him, "let's go back inside, warm you up. If you ever need to get away from the group, instead of going out into the cold just go into my room and lock the door. I don't want you to freeze out here."

"I don't know why I hide out here," Evelien admitted and Sean sighed.

"Maybe it's because you're kinda like... Introverted." Sean pushed up the door and used one of the hidden side stairwells to get upstairs.

"Isn't that when you don't like to talk?" Evelien shivered, "I'll talk to people."

"No it's... hm. It's when you're more comfortable by yourself or with a few people you trust. You don't like big crowds, you're like a loner." Sean opened the door to his room and the two slipped in, Evelien stopping a few steps in the door as Sean's grip left her.

"Y-yeah. That's how I am." Evelien said softly, shivering as Sean's heat wasn't keeping her warm anymore. He added a few logs to the fire and moved towards the bed after, grabbing the pillows and tossing them on the floor before taking the blankets off and throwing them on the floor too. Evelien looked over at him and he moved back to her,

"I haven't gotten to talk to you all week, you're shivering and sickly. Go change into a nightdress, though I know it isn't even dinner yet, and join me back here once you're done so we can talk." Sean kissed her jaw as he kept his one hand on her hip and Evelien nodded, slowly slipping away from his grip. Once she left the room Seán slipped his own coat off and used a metal rod to poke the fire, grabbing some shreddings of an old newspaper to throw in as kindling to get the fire roaring. He slowly moved the blankets and pillows so he could sit comfortably and wait. Evelien had been spending too much time outside recently, which was one of the main causes of her illness. She had a cold, just a bit of a cold really. A little sniffly. Sean could tell already as it was obvious by her red nose and her groggy voice. When Evelien came back in the room he held an arm out and she fell down next to him and cuddled into his side.

"You're still cold. I hope the fire can warm you up." Sean said, throwing a thick blanket over Evelien who shivered.

"I wasn't even outside for that long." She mumbled, rubbing her arms.

"I know, but the chill is so great today it doesn't matter how long you're outside for." Sean rubbed her back to try and warm her up faster, "plus you've been outside a lot in the chill."

"What are we?" Evelien asked softly yet abruptly.

"We?" Sean asked softly, Evelien shifting in his arms so she was facing him. She pulled the blanket so it encased the two of them in a ball.

"Yeah. Like are we actually dating? We never clarified." Evelien felt Sean gently grab her hands and bring them to his face as he kissed her knuckles.

"If you want to?" Sean kept his face lower and Evelien smiled softly and pressed her forehead to his, "yeah, I'd love to."

"Publicly?" Sean looked into her eyes and after a second of thought, Evelien hummed a yes.

"Yeah. Yeah, let's do it. Maybe that'll end these rumors." Evelien giggled and Sean cupped the one side of her face and leaned up to kiss her. She leaned into his touch and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning towards him she pressed a bit too much pressure and caused the two to fall onto Sean's back. They laughed for a moment before Evelien snuggled into the blankets and his warmth to close her eyes and breathe.

"You can rest, Chase will come to grab us for dinner tonight." Sean murmured and Evelien nodded and felt herself drift off now that she wasn't worried about missing dinner.


	28. chapter twenty-seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marvin's potions malfunction, Evelien disguises herself and tells some news.

Evelien awoke to the sound of yelling, she jolted straight up and noticed Sean wasn't beside her. Kicking and throwing the blanket off of herself she grabbed a sword resting by the bed. Someone screamed in the hall and a shatter made Evelien pause for a second. She gripped the sword and pressed her head to the door to listen to outside.

"My brother is not a monster!" Sean yelled and there was a grunt, "leave me alone!"

"Sean you need to—" Chase started the yelped as there was a sound of something crashing. Evelien pushed open the door to see Sean standing, his magic seemingly pulsing off of him. Evelien hadn't seen anything like this before, Chase clearly was in a similar state. He called Sean's name and Sean screeched and lifted his palm for an attack. Evelien didn't hesitate to lift shields around Sean and slowly push in on him. He struggled against them and tried to shove them back.

"Somethings wrong, his magic is taking over his head. This is typically seen in children who have never learned to control their magic." A voice chimed and Marvin walked up to the king. His breath was heavy, Jackie and Jameson behind him breathing heavily as well. They must've all run here, "he needs to calm down enough for me to do an assessment."

"Ah. Sean, listen to me." Evelien looked at Marvin and pressed a hand to the sheild, "Sean, please."

He spasmed and slammed against the shields causing Evelien to step back and grimace, pushing the barriers further towards him. She stepped closer and looked back.

"I'm going to drop the barriers and try something.. you guys be prepared if he freaks out." when no one moved Evelien huffed, "Jackie grab me, Chase clear the hall and give me a second to reassess myself and I'll raise barriers again."

The group nodded and Evelien sighed, slowly dropping the barriers and moving towards Sean who almost snarled at her.

"Sean. It's me." Evelien spoke softly lifting her hand to his face, she cupped his jaw, a pain entering her hand and she paused. Is this what he was feeling? She continued to set her hand next to his jaw and he stiffened. After a few seconds, Sean screeched and Jackie yanked her back as Sean slammed a line of silver magic at her feet, she tore herself from Jackie's arm and lifted the barriers until Sean calmed enough. Then she tried again. The same thing with her hands, the same words...

Sean stared forward silently and Evelien grimaced, okay. She'd do this. It would be fine, right? She stepped a bit closer and bit her lip for a second before leaning in and pressing their foreheads together. He leaned in for a second, he was calming down. The magic pulse hurt where she was touching him, a slight dull roar pain. It decreased as he calmed.

"Sean." She whispered, "it's okay. You need to relax, I'm right here. I'll be here for you."

Sean wrapped an arm around her waist and Evelien felt her heart pound in relief as she leaned up and gently kissed him for a split second as the shared pain completely diminished. Sean's knees buckled and she quickly shifted her arms under his to hold him up.

"Wha..." he murmured and she slowly kneeled down, kissing his forehead.

"It's okay, I've got you." She whispered, laying his head on her lap, "Marvin he's calm."

Marvin moved over and held a hand over his chest and closed his eyes. Sean groaned and gripped Eveliens hand tightly before a small ball of light lifted from his chest. It was smoking, the black smoke dripping down from the bottom. Marvin cursed and quickly murmured a chant that made the white light of the ball peek through before the smoke was diminished. Sean watched weakly before the light was pushed back into his chest.

"His magic is cleansed." Marvin said softly, "Jackie, help me get him into bed."

Jackie and Marvin moved and they began to lift Sean when he gripped Evelien's dress sleeve, she froze for a second before prying his hand away, "no-no, Sean it's okay. Go lay down."

"Eve..." he whispered and let her pull his hand back. She kissed his knuckles and set his hand on his chest before he was carried off. Evelien stood and turned to look at the remaining three.

"So are you two a thing? Or?" Chase asked and Henrik smacked his arm.

"Uh, yeah actually." Evelien smiled before walking back into Sean's room, giggling at the shouting behind her.

"You! You? Evelien!" Chase grabbed her shoulders and spun her, she laughed and placed a hand on his.

"Yes?"

"You can't say that so casually!" Chase stammered and Henrik was signing with an excited Jameson in the doorway.

"What's happening?" Marvin asked, moving away from where Jackie was kneeled next to Sean's bed, talking to the weak king.

"She-" Chase started but a slam down the hall made the whole room jump. There was shouting and Lydia appeared unfazed in the doorway.

"Someone's scaling the walls, seems to be one of those infected." She said, a bow in her hand.

"Don't kill them!" Evelien rushed over and tore the bow out of her hands.

"We have to Evelien!" Lydia snapped, trying to grab it back.

"Do you not care they were once human like us?" Evelien twisted the wood in her hands until it snapped loud and splintered in her hands.

"Evelien!" Lydia cried, "they're demons!"

"They've been possessed! They can't help it! My father was there Lydia, he was. I-I can't." Evelien dripped the wood and made a bubble around herself, blocking out the noise. Movements went around her head and she saw Marvin order people out of the room with a green glow in his eyes. Jameson guided Lydia and Chase out, Henrik staying for a few seconds before disappearing out of the room. Jackie stood and rested a hand on the shield and Marvin left. Jackie shut the doors before sitting in front of Evelien who rubbed her face. He looked over her and stood, moving over to the other side of the room in a panicked manner.

Evelien slowly let the shields down and pulled herself to her feet. Jackie sat next to Sean who was trying to stand.

"Sean, you can't! You need to stay here!" Jackie pushed him back to lay him down and Evelien slipped out of the door and ran down the hall to her room. Opening and shutting her door she heard BB leap down.

"I'll drop you off with Sean," she murmured, mostly to herself, as she swung open her closet doors and grabbed pants and a shirt. She almost tore her dress off to change, slipping the black pants and the dark shirt on, she grabbed boots from the bottom of the closet and threw her hair up with her ribbon from Sean. Grabbing her sword she grabbed a belt with a sheath and slipped it in. Pausing she huffed and grabbed a scarf, it was cold, the shirt was thin. She didn't have a coat readily available. Scooping up BB she cracked open Sean's door and dropped the cat down before quietly shutting it and rushing down to the center of the town.

The last time she had fought a puppet she had been kidnapped, but as she secured the scarf behind her ponytail and around her lower mouth she realized that she wouldn't be recognized.

Perfect.


	29. chapter twenty-eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelien fights and hits her limit with being overly protected.

Evelien slipped into the main area to see people gathered at the walls, she lightly pushed through the crowd to find her spot in the madness and watched as puppets stood at the top of the wall.

"They've been there for ten minutes, what are they doing?" A male shouted and Evelien glanced to the side to see a ladder leading up. She pushed through the frozen crowd, ignoring the soft murmurs, and grabbed the ladder rungs. Taking a breath she began to make her way up. She made it to the top and pulled her sword, watching as a few puppets glanced at her. One charged and she blocked three of its attacks and rammed her elbow into its face, knocking it out. The puppets began to attack the crowd under her and chase her along the walls, she ran to the other side of the wall opposite of Sean's balcony. As she glanced up she saw Jackie standing on it with a shocked expression.

She stopped running and slipped her sword in her sheath before leaping off the wall onto the top of a house. She ran along the rooftops until it was safe to jump off. The screech of a puppet reminding her what she needed to do. She rolled and pulled her sword out at the same time as a puppet lurched forward. Playing defense until she could sweep its feet out from under itself she held her sword to its throat. The person's head snapped to the side before returning to their normal position with their eyes closed. Evelien did the same for a few other puppets until she tried for another only to realize it was Anti. A surge of fear and anxiety had her pause, giving him enough time to shove her back. Her makeshift mask falling down.

"Ah, Princess. I was wondering when I'd see you again." He towered over her and Evelien bit her lip as she tried to find a way to get out of this scenario.

"Rot in hell, Anti." Evelien lifted a hand and pushed him back with a shield, giving her time to quickly stand up so they were level.

"That's not something you'd say to your future in law." He smirked and Evelien faltered.

"My what?" She asked, before mentally shaking the fear and holding her sword tightly in a defensive stance.

"You've taken a liking to my brother." He said, he wasn't attacking her, but Evelien stayed defensive out of fear of him taking advantage of it. His head snapped sideways and he grunted, curling his fists.

"Angus." She said, "it really is you."

"Hello, Evelien." His face softened and his eyes became a soft blue as he blinked., "I'm sorry we had to meet like this and I'm sorry for what this demon in my head has done. I wish I could tell you everything but it takes a lot of magic to hold him back. Look, you need to tell Marvin he's attacked to my soul. Only a seers exorcism can save me, please. Help."

He snapped his head to the side, then shook quickly before the black eyes returned. Anti— in Angus' body, quickly leap straight into the air and rushed off. Evelien stood shocked before pulling her mask up and continuing the fight.

—-

Evelien changed back into a normal dress, a day dress this time. As the sun had started to rise during the fight, she tossed her duvet around to make it look like she had been in the room hiding before she walked back out. Keeping a small shield in her palms as a precaution. She made her way towards Sean's room but her ears perked; hearing thumps against the carpet she turned as Brianna rammed into her side.

"Eve! Evelien! We thought we lost you! No one could find you!" Brianna said, the child bouncing as Lydia came up behind her with a sour expression.

"Where were you! What were you doing!" She snapped and Evelien scowled.

"I don't remember needing to be followed like a toddler." Evelien said, "I went and hid for safety, that's all!"

"Did you? I checked your room!" Lydia exclaimed. Jackie popped out from Sean's room to the side of Evelien.

"It doesn't matter where I was, I'm fine." Evelien sighed and Jackie clicked his tongue, going to interject when Lydia screamed, "You're a princess! Act like it!"

"Are you serious? Are you—" Evelien cut herself off and groaned, "I have no idea if any of my kingdom is going to recover completely, my kingdom itself is in shambles and my father attacked me while possessed. I don't remember a time I asked for your opinion or your old ideals. Leave me alone, go find some other job. That's my final order as your royal, get the hell away from me. Take Brianna. I can't be linked to home anymore."

Lydia stilled and Brianna let go of Evelien's hand slowly and attached to Lydia who stepped back, "Evelien."

"I don't need your protection right now. I can fight. I did. I fought in that attack and I don't care— wipe that look off your face. I'm done." Evelien snapped and her grip on the hilt of the sword as it rested in its sheath at her hip tightened.

"You're gonna regret this. I was appointed to you by your mother— the queen! Her ruling is over yours—"

"She's dead as far as I know and for now the Southern Isles is gone. Leave!" Evelien pushed a barrier up and began to push the two back. Jackie grabbed Evelien's hands and pushed them down

"Evelien! Evelien, let them go." He stood in front of her and Evelien dropped the barrier. Lydia grabbed Brianna's arm and rushed away, cursing Evelien out softly. Evelien leaned against Jackie with a cracking sigh.

"It's okay. I'll send Chase to talk to them but you need to come into Sean's room. If you were at the fight then we have a lot to discuss."


	30. chapter twenty-nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelien makes her own plans.

Evelien sat next to Sean, whose head rested on her thigh as she ran her hands through his hair and hummed lowly. Jackie stood against the wall near Marvin, on the left side of Evelien, Jameson and Henrik opposite of them while Chase stood in the middle of the room.

"Alright." Chase started, clasping his hands together, "what the fuck happened? Anyone wanna talk?"

"Ah. Uhm." Evelien started but hesitated, Angus had said to only tell Marvin. She could wait for him, right? The group looked At her and she huffed.

"I fought in that attack, I did. The puppets only need some sort of head trauma, like hitting their head on the ground or being hit in the head, to stop the puppetry. I heard from some possessed that when Anti gets far enough he also stopped puppeteering them; which is why those that get captured lose the possession over time. It has to wear off." Evelien felt Sean grip her knee and she slipped one hand down to hold his.

"Okay but what else about the puppeteer. Anti." Chase asked and Evelien sighed.

"I'd like to only tell Marvin, as it is something Marvin can assist-"

"We just need to know if Anti is Angus-"

"You need to stop bringing that up!"

"But it's possible there's proof-"

"Chase-"

"There's no proof! None of it is truthful! We don't know anything!"

"Both of you stop!"

"Because you won't let me-"

"Let you what? Get yourself killed!"

"Shut the hell up!"

Sean twitched and squeezed Evelien's hand as he shook his head 'no' multiple times. Evelien huffed and grabbed at her belt.

"Stop!" Evelien shouted, throwing her sheathed sword at Chase's legs, "enough! You will not speak of this anymore! We have gone through enough as of today. Everyone take a rest, go assess the damages, do something else than stand here and bicker like children!"

The men stared at Evelien which only made her angrier. She shot them a look and slowly they began to exit the room. Marvin stayed.

"Evelien. When you are ready to speak to me about Anti I will be at my house outside the castle walls." Marvin nodded to her.

"I will ask Jameson for directions," Evelien nodded back and Marvin left the room. Leaning back Evelien sighed and ran her hand through Sean's hair again as the king mumbled nonsense.

"You're weak from the possession, Sean." Evelien said softly, "get some rest. We can always talk later."

He mumbled incoherently and Evelien moved him so his head was laying on the plush pillows. She tugged and blankets up and ran a hand through his hair, quietly singing random lullabies to him until she was sure he was deep asleep and wouldn't wake if she moved. She slowly slipped out of the blankets and left the room as she bent down for a second to grab her sword as she passed, making her way down the hall to her room. She opened the door and stuck her arm in, grabbing a jacket and a long cape-like overcoat. As she made her way down the main stairwell she felt a knot twist in her stomach. uncertainty making her blood run cold. She paused and took a deep breath and pushed open the large doors, the guards outside turning at the noise.

"Princess Evelien Smolders of the Southern Isles!" One announced and Evelien cringed. She'd have to take the back way next time. she slipped her hood up and disappeared into the crowd effortlessly and made her way to the stables. Once inside she tugged her hood back down and looked for her friend when she bumped into someone else.

"Oh! So sorry-- your majesty..." The male paused, his eyes wide at the sight of Evelien and she smiled.

"Ah! It's no worry! Don't be sorry. I haven't seen you in the stables with Jameson before, sir. What's your name?" Evelien asked, letting her hands gently pull at the fabric in her hands, she hadn't wanted to meet anyone new but recently things really hadn't been going her way.

"Prince Robin Tokar!" He announced giving a small bow, which Evelien returned, "Jameson is in the back with his girlfriend, I can grab them if you wish? And I don't really work here, I just came back from a ride. I'm heir to the throne in a decently sized kingdom north."

"Ah, sorry Prince Tokar. I have a question, however, can you help me saddle my horse?" Evelien asked.

"Yes, I can." He said, "Yours is Ghost right?"

"Yes, all I need is my horse, so Jameson is unneeded." Evelien smiled to Robin who nodded.

"Alright, let's get you set up then," Robin said, waving Evelien to the side of the stables. The two worked quickly, Evelien mostly having to keep Ghost calm.

"He always gets antsy when he knows I'm going to take him on a ride, so be warned he might try to kick you." Evelien had warned Robin and after two near kicks, she had opted to finish up alone. Giving a respectful goodbye to the other royal, Evelien calmed down Ghost enough to check Robin's work. She knew he had helped her because it was chivalrous but Evelien was in a hurry and just needed it to be done. She deduced that the cinches were sturdy and the saddle was on correctly. She had gotten the bridle on when calming Ghost and smiled when she realized she was done. Grabbing mounting steps she climbed them and-- carefully-- hopped onto the horse and made her way out of the stables and to the main gates. After making her way out of the main area in town she picked up a bit of speed and ushered Ghost forwards. She had an idea of where Marvins house was, and by the smell of teas and herbs she knew she had found it. Sliding off of Ghost's saddle she guided him to Marvins fenced yard, Marvin meeting her outside.

"Here, there's a small stable like area behind the house. I'll take him there. Go inside and sit by the fire to warm up, you're flushed from the chill." Marvin nodded and Evelien hummed before slipping into the small house. It was warm, a small fireplace roaring on the far wall and near her was a kitchen full of bottles and jars with messily scribbled labels. She sat on the couch and hear a small _mrrph, _which made her glance down to see a pure white kitten. She gently held her hand down to it, the back of her hand facing the kitten who sniffed and bumped her hand a few times. The sound of a windchime causing the kitten to run towards the door where Marvin scooped it up.

"Hey, Cloud." He cooed to the kitten as he walked to where Evelien was and sat down, "I've gotta talk to Evelien so why don't you-- oh I know, I know, I'll feed you right after this, okay? Go play in the other room, baby."

After a short interruption from the kitten, Marvin set him down and he scampered off to the side of the house and through a doorway.

"So Evelien, let's begin." Marvin gave a soft smile.


End file.
